By Any Other Name
by Celery Sticks
Summary: "Beck was smiling fondly at Tori though, but it didn't bother Jade as much as it should have. After all, she was doing the same." Tori finds a white rose in her locker on her birthday, but there's no name on the card. Who could have left it there?
1. Chapter 1

Tori stared into her locker, stupefied. Good thing no one at Hollywood Arts ever seemed to care about what was going on around them; if she was back at Sherwood people surely would have stopped and stared, wondering why she was staring dumbly at her locker. Instead, when the half-Latina cast quick glances left and right to make sure no one _was_ staring, she was slightly unnerved to see absolutely no one even turned curiously in her direction.

…these kids were so weird sometimes. She didn't even know half of them, now that she thought about it, and the half she did know never seemed to speak unless spoken to. So weird…

Anyway, she supposed it wasn't all that odd, because unless the teenage masses were to have been standing directly behind the brunette they wouldn't have seen the single white rose, wrapped with a black ribbon, placed carefully on top of her textbooks. The card that hung off the ribbon read "Happy Birthday" in a basic, slanted print.

As her gaze returned to the beautiful flower a shy, tender smile lit up her face. A gentle "Aww…" escaped her as a gentle blush graced her cheeks. She let her purse drop to the ground in order to free a hand, textbooks from the night before clutched in the other. Tori reached for the rose, hand pausing for a moment when she saw that someone had taken great care to remove the thorns, and carefully retrieved the beautiful flower. The petals were as white as snow and had yet to fully fan out, proof that the flower had only bloomed recently which meant she'd have it for the next few days. It couldn't have been in her locker for very long either, otherwise the petals would have started to curl and fade.

Taking a minute to put her books away, Tori gently closed her locker as she gazed down fondly at the white bloom. It seems that someone had gone through a lot of trouble to leave her a very elegant birthday present… but who exactly was someone? She took the card in her hand and looked at it closely, hoping to see a signature. Her brows knit together in disappointment when she found none, but only a moment passed before her smile returned.

_This might just be the most adorable, sweetest thing I've ever gotten!_

Tori turned around and this time people did stare as she continued to grin like a maniac at the flower in her hand… one person in particular watched from across the hall, half-hidden behind the open door of their own locker. If Tori had cared enough to look up and scan the hallway, their eyes probably would have met, but she didn't.

Instead, she tossed her head and practically skipped down the hallway, holding the flower to her nose to inhale its sweet scent. Heading outside to the Asphalt Café, Tori thought about who could have left the rose in her locker. Could it have been Ryan, from her history class? Or maybe Erik, from Orchestra…

Her smile evolved into a happy little giggle. Ryan and Erik were both very handsome boys.

As she skipped, the eyes that watched her ducked to the floor and their owner shrank against the wall of lockers, effectively hiding that person from sight as the half-Latina skipped past. When the sound of footsteps began to fade, this onlooker slowly came back out from behind their locker door to watch her on her way out to the café.

Tori continued to ponder who could have left her this little surprise birthday gift, unaware of the eyes on her. She passed through the double doors out into the café, sun shining brightly and adding to her good mood. Last year it had rained on her birthday and her hair had been… well, let's just say her hair had not been happy about it. It probably hadn't helped that Trina had conveniently forgotten to wait for her before leaving for school. Walking to school in the rain had not been a fun start to her sweet 16th.

Suddenly her stomach growled; she'd reminisce later. Right now, she needed a burrito. One of Festus' famous burritos would make her birthday that much more wonderful. Tori headed over to the grub truck, intent on getting herself one, but out of nowhere arms encircled her waist and she was in the air.

Shrieking as she was thrown over someone's shoulder, she clutched tightly at her rose, trying desperately not to crush it as she continued to protest hysterically. Whoever had kidnapped her paid her no mind and simply continued to carry across the café.

She ceased her struggling for a moment to groan loudly before rearing up and shouting "Put me down! Whoever you are put me _down_! I just want a burrito! Come on, it's my birthday! I think I deserve a burrito on my birthday!"

"I agree!" She stopped struggling, confusion spreading rapidly across her face. That was Andre's voice. Why was André kidnapping her? "That's why we went and bought you one!"

André set her down on the bench of their lunch table, grinning like an idiot. Cat, Robbie, and Beck were already there, as were five lunches, spread out across the table. One, which was not already matched with a smiling teenager, was a very pretty burrito accompanied by a can of Mountain Fizz, Tori's absolute favorite soda. When it finally clicked that said lunch was for her, Tori's confusion melted into affection. "Aww, you guys bought me lunch? That's so sweet!"

"Happy Birthday, Tori!"

They told her in a rush that the real presents (the socially-appropriate-priced ones all wrapped up in shiny, cliché 'Happy Birthday' wrapping paper) would be coming tonight, when they all went out for dinner at the youngest Vega's favorite restaurant: Poquito Mas. It was perhaps the most authentic Mexican restaurant in Hollywood, and every time she ate there Tori was reminded fondly of her late grandmother. Because it was a bit pricey she unfortunately didn't get to eat there that often, making it the perfect place for her friends to take her.

Tori was sure she was grinning like an idiot, but she couldn't help it! She was just so happy! Even though she'd been wary at first of having a Monday birthday, today had so far exceeded her expectations.

"What's that?" That was Jade's voice, cool and clipped. The half-Latina realized then that the table had been so far devoid of cynical commentary; Jade had not been in on her birthday lunch. For some reason, this depressed her, but she shouldn't have been surprised. Jade did despise her, after all. When Tori turned to look up at the scissor-loving psychopath, who was standing before them all with a black brow perked, her smile fell slightly at the irritation written across the other girl's face. "Oh, hey Jade. What's what?"

Those mint green eyes narrowed down at her but Tori didn't shrink away. She was used to that cold glare and honestly, it just didn't scare her like it used to. In fact, she found that those eyes intrigued her. Jade did have beautiful eyes after all, it was just a shame that the rest of her was so… ganky.

"_That." _Those green eyes were no longer staring at her but downwards, at the rose still clutched in Tori's hand. The treacherous ride on André's shoulder hadn't harmed the rose in any way, thank God… and Tori found herself smiling again.

"I found it in my locker, it's a birthday present from an anonymous someone. Isn't it sweet?"

"Not really." And the smile fell away; how could Jade not think it was sweet? Then again… she was a pretty messed up chick. The other day she'd asked Sinjin how long he'd be able to hold his breath, and then videotaped the poor boy as he turned blue trying to impress her. The birthday present of her dreams was probably a pair of industrial bolt cutters. Tori cocked her head as she pictured it in her mind. _It's scary how easy that is to imagine_.

"Yeah I mean, don't they use white roses at funerals?" _Robbie! You're not helping!_

The half-Latina opened her mouth to retort, but before she was able to utter a single word Jade pulled a complete 180. She went from being disinterested to livid in a matter of seconds. Those green eyes flew open with anger and she almost looked… insulted? "Because they symbolize honor and love and respect, you idiot! Not that _you'd_ know what any of that's like. Just because people use them at funerals doesn't mean they're not beautiful!"

The table went silent and Jade stood stock-still, her eyes wide. It seemed that even she hadn't expected to react as vehemently as she did. Tori felt her mouth hanging open in shock, and it seemed everyone had raised their eyebrows in surprise… except Robbie, who looked like he was about to cry. Thankfully they had Cat to break the silence.

"So like, Tori's got a secret admirer? That's so cute!"

Tori shook her head to chase away the disbelief as Cat and Andre started grilling her about any and all boys in her classes. Robbie squeaked once before excusing himself from the table, probably to go change his shorts, and Beck was staring at Jade… whohad used the distraction to duck her head and quickly sit herself down at his side. Now she was poking at her salad, her expression unreadable.

But wait, was she… was that a blush on the other girl's face? Or was Tori just imagining the pink rising in her cheeks?

"Anyway… I think it's stupid. Someone broke into your locker and left you a stupid plant that's gonna wither and die in like two days. They clearly don't have the backbone to say whatever they're obviously trying to say to you in person. You don't think that's pathetic?"

The half-Latina paused a moment before answering. She spent that moment gazing gently at the other girl, admiring the adorable insecurity that had risen in those usually fierce irises. "No." Tori waited until Jade's eyes met hers. When they did, shy but curious, she smiled and reached across the table to gently flick the rose against the tip of Goth girl's nose. "I think it's sweet."

And then she turned her attention back to Cat and Andre, leaving Jade West alone with her thoughts… and her boyfriend, of course. Beck was smiling fondly at Tori though, but it didn't bother Jade as much as it should have.

After all, she was doing the same.

…and that most definitely was a blush staining her cheeks.

_She likes it…_


	2. Chapter 2

The next day found Jade West scowling into her phone as she brushed her teeth. She was on Tori Vega's Slap page, reading the half-Latina's last post.

'Dinner at my favorite place with way more presents than I deserve. I have the best friends in the world! :{)'

With an aggravated groan she slammed her phone down onto the sink counter and immediately regretted it. The poor device hit the porcelain with a crack that made her wince and after a moment Jade huffed, letting the toothbrush hang out of the side of her mouth as her other hand moved to gingerly turn the phone back over. A brief moment of relief passed through her when she saw no cracks in the screen but in a second her mood went sour again.

_Why couldn't I have just gone to the stupid party? Now I'm gonna have to hear all about it from Beck and Vega'll ask me why I didn't go_ _and I'll have to think of something biting and cruel to say... it's not like it'll be hard but I'm just so sick of this. Teasing just doesn't do it for me anymore…_

Ripping the cap off the mouthwash, Jade poured herself a capful and tipped it back, gargling until she was sure her breathe was Wintergreen-fresh. As she spit into the sink she caught sight of herself in the mirror and proceeded to glare at her own reflection.

"You can break into her locker and leave her a stupid flower but you don't have the guts to go to the girl's stupid birthday dinner?"

She kept the staring contest going for a solid thirty seconds, her irritation growing as her snarling reflection mocked her. When she got sick of waiting for an answer she knew wasn't going to come, she groaned and headed back to her room to get dressed. The trip from the bathroom to her bedroom was eerily silent, as always.

There were never any home-like noises in her house: no faucets running, kettles sounding off, no pleasant morning conversation.

Hell, if there was any sound at all in that house it was the sound of silence.

Even the slamming of her bedroom door seemed somehow muted… like it felt awkward breaking the silence and was trying to apologize for it. Even though Jade always tried to make as much noise as she could when she was getting ready in the morning it always proved futile. The house was still cold and empty; it didn't matter what she did. No one was around to hear it. No one was around to care. She was still alone.

"…now what am I gonna wear. Dress? No. Skirt?" She frowned, hands fisted firmly on her hips as she stared into her predominately-black closet. After a moment, she sighed. "Pants. I'm not in the mood to be gorgeous today. Shirts shirts shirts… hah, let's see… This one? No. That one? Hah, no. Scissor shirt? …Maybe."

Talking to herself was just one of the many tactics she'd invented for dealing with her house, as did tossing each disregarded article of clothing onto her bed. She always told herself she'd busy herself later by putting it all away when she came home; it'd kill maybe a good seven minutes.

"…I haven't worn flannel in a while…" Jade held the purple flannel shirt in her hands, trying to remember the last time she'd worn it, but the harder she tried the more convinced she became that she _hadn't_. Looking back up into her closet she spied the red one she always used to wear before she'd dyed her hair. "Hm. Flannel it is."

She grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans then went to her dresser to get a bra, underwear and a black tank top. Once she sat down at her vanity to do her face. When she went to line her eyes she paused, eyes flitting about her face, and tried to decide if she loved or hated how pale she was.

_Tori's tan... and I like the way Tori looks, even though I'll probably never admit it to her face… fat lot of good it'd do if I did. She thinks I hate her guts.  
_

And when her head reminded her that that was what Jade had wanted, Jade replied with a mental _Shut up. _

_Anyway, does that mean I like tans? Beck's tan too, now that I think about it... _

She thought about brushing her hair, but didn't. Instead she simply did a mock head-bang or a few moments to loosen it up (an trick of hers she'd invented that worked wonders, especially when her hair was wet) laced up her nearest pair of converse and grabbed her bag. Again she slammed the door and she headed downstairs, her feet thumping against the carpet.

"Goodbye, nobody. Goin' to school now. Not like you care."

The moment she was out of the house she paused and breathed a sigh of relief. A buzzing in her pocket made her jump; when she pulled out her phone she noted with a frown that she had indeed scratched the paint when she'd smacked the poor thing against the counter. She rolled her eyes skywards before checking her notifications. According to her phone, she had a new text from Beck.

'You comin to school 2day? We need to talk.'

Jade stared at her phone for a moment, bit her lip, and wondered if she should be worried. Well, actually she wondered why she _wasn't _worried. The whole 'we need to talk' thing wasn't a good sign, even though it was such a cliche line it almost always meant trouble. Most normal girls with healthy relationships would have been at least nervous… but then again she wasn't exactly normal, and their relationship wasn't exactly healthy. Far from it actually, for both situations. After a minute's hesitation she sent back a quick reply.

'Yeah. I am.'

She sighed, pulling her aviators out of her bag and sliding them up the bridge of her nose. "Wonderful."

Her car sat in the driveway, awaiting her life-giving energy… AKA the key and her foot for which to apply to the gas pedal. She pulled open the driver's side door, dumped her purse in the passenger seat and jammed the key into the ignition, wishing she hadn't woken up that morning. Something told her today was just not going to be her day.

As the car came to life some hip, happy pop song blasted out over the radio and she groaned in disgust as she immediately switched stations.

She was pleasantly surprised, however, when the next station began to play Dobie Gray's "Drift Away," the old classic. Jade waited a minute, eyes closing to simply sit and listen. The gentle guitar and soothing voice brought the smallest of smiles to her face as she sat, and slowly the tenseness in her shoulders loosened. Satisfied, she put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway then sped off down the road towards school.

She arrived a few minutes later, the radio succeeding for once in putting her in a slightly less aggravated mood. Not a single bad song had fouled up her radio since Dobie Gray, and she found herself thankful for small miracles. Unfortunately, when she saw how full the parking lot was she figured she had maybe two or three minutes to stop at her locker and get to Sikowitz's class before the bell rang. Still, she waited for the song (now "American Pie" by Don McLean) to finish before she turned the car off.

No one was in the hallway (thank the Lord) so she had her locker open and her books in hand in no time, but just as she shut the door the bell rang. A sound somewhere between a scream and a miserable moan escaped her as she let her forehead fall against the locker, fingers clenching around the strap of her bag.

_And now I'm late. I really just should've stayed in bed._

Jade didn't like coming into class late; having everyone's eyes on you was only nice when you were on stage or looking hot, and while Jade West looked sexy in anything she hadn't exactly tried that hard when she'd been getting ready that morning. Not at all. She seriously debated skipping: just leaving the school, going back to her car and doing _anything_ else for the rest of the day. But... she had Beck to deal with, and the thought of seeing Tori immediately made her heart beat faster in her chest. So soon enough she was stomping down the hallway toward Sikowitz's room.

The force with which she opened the classroom door caused it to rebound against the wall, but she was through the threshold too quickly for it to hit her. She tried to ignore the wide-eyed stares as she plopped down into an open chair towards the back of the class and crossed her arms. Sikowitz, who was sitting cross-legged on the stage that served for his desk, cocked a brow in her direction.

"Jade! How nice of you to join us."

"Isn't it?"

The eyes of her classmates were only on her for one exceedingly long and uncomfortable moment before everyone's attention turned back to Sikowitz, everyone but two. She didn't have to turn her head to see Beck looking at her curiously, his eyes slightly narrowed. When she met his gaze he could only keep contact for a moment before his eyes turned to the floor, embarrassed, which only confirmed her suspicions that whatever he had to say to her was not going to be good.

And she _felt_, rather than dare to look, Tori staring at her. Probably enjoying her embarrassment, or wondering why she'd ignored everyone's calls last night when they'd invited her to Tori's birthday dinner.

_Because Vega, I can barely control myself around you when we're at school, and even that's only because I have a reputation to keep._

Sikowitz saved her from having to continue to sit and squirm under the half-Latina's curious stare, because he soon called her out on her distraction and dragged her up to the front of the classroom to help with a demonstration. This freed Jade to do her own staring, intense green eyes honing in on the object of her affections. They traced over everything: the long brown waves of sleek, shining hair, those bright coffee-colored eyes that sparkled with mirth over Sikowitz's psychotic explanations and wild gesticulations... those gorgeous cheekbones... and those legs...

Some part of her wondered how she hadn't just gone ahead and jumped the other girl by now. Hell, with the amount of time they spent in the janitor's closet together you'd think it would have happened a _few_ times.

Whenever the two of them were alone or even just in a group together outside of school Jade found it hard to behave herself. She'd slipped before, but thank God they'd been tiny slips. Their "date" at Nozu had been the worst.

'_You could say I'm pretty!'_

'_You are pretty.'_

When she'd heard that, she wanted to believe so badly there was some kind of deeper meaning to Tori's words… and that she hadn't just been being nice. Jade knew she was hot, sexy even, but hearing it from the girl who'd been invading her thoughts and making cameos in her dreams for the past few months had just been…

It had taken every ounce of willpower she had not to kiss Vega right then and there. (Or worse.)

Suddenly Sikowitz's voice rang out and she shook her head to clear away the naughty thoughts, eyes falling to the floor as Tori reclaimed her seat.

The rest of class passed by in a blur, with Sikowitz doing several dances and speaking in loud, obnoxious accents that grated against her ears. Every now and then her eyes would stray, finding Tori's profile and wandering. When the bell rang Jade continued to sit slouched in her chair, dread growing steadily inside of her. She watched Tori leave, eyes straying farther south than was respectful, but hey. That's what she got for wearing those jeans. Even as the door fell shut she continued to slouch, sighing and letting her head fall backwards as far as it would go. If Beck wanted to talk to her, this would have to be the time. They both had Study Hall second period and in the past it had often been their way to meet up and go off for some "alone" time.

Today probably wouldn't be one of those days though.

She felt Beck approach her left side, aura tense and uncomfortable. "Jade, I need to talk to you."

Her head came back up, eyes opening to stare up at him, eyes hopefully betraying nothing. "I know. I got your text."

After a few seconds of blank stares, they waved goodbye to Sikowitz and left the classroom together. Beck held the door open for her like he always did, but the thought of saying "Thank you" or acknowledging the act in any way never crossed her mind. The hallway was nearly empty, but Beck led her to the Black Box Theatre anyway. She frowned, eyebrow coming together as her hands fisted at her sides. Wanting to be alone meant he didn't want anyone to see or hear them. Jade felt her heart rate climbing steadily.

When they walked into the theatre Beck gestured for her to sit down but he remained standing, his hands buried in his pockets. She did so gladly, arms crossing immediately, legs doing the same. Jade waited for him to speak, but he remained silent. He just stared at the floor. She tried to be patient but gave up on it really quickly. She'd never been famous for her patience, and that even applied to those closest to her. If you had something to say, then you should say it. That or shut up and not bother people with your awkwardness.

(A tiny voice in her head shouted _"Hypocrite!")_

"Well? What did you want to talk about?"

Beck refused to look her in the eye. When he ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit she'd noticed early on in their relationship, she knew this was going to be bad. "Jade, I think... I think we should..." she cocked a brow at his sputtering. He was usually so much more eloquent than this. "I-I ... wanna… break up."

A horrible silence fell over them as he continued to stare at the floor. She stared at him, eyes narrowed, mouth slightly open as though she were about to speak. After a moment, she did. Though her head certainly hadn't approved what came out. "May I ask why?"

Finally he looked at her, his brows scrunched together in confusion at her tone. Clearly he hadn't been expecting her to be so calm about it, and quite frankly _she _hadn't been expecting it either.

...Maybe it was because she'd been expecting it for a while now. She'd seen the way he stared at Tori… surely the same way she did: dazed and love struck. She'd been well aware of how their relationship was slowly dissolving. It had been a snail's-pace process: they'd stopped being affectionate with one another, their kisses becoming a matter of course, the hand holding a duty rather than a pleasure. And they argued. A lot. More than they used to, and about the stupidest things.

They'd fallen out of love with each other.

And thanks to all of the horrible karma Jade had wracked up in her life, they were now falling for the same person.

_So unfair..._

...but she could ponder the inner workings of karma later. Right now, Beck was trying to explain. "Jade… I just…" He looked at her incredulously for a moment, trying to figure out why she wasn't over-reacting like he'd thought she was going to. Eventually he gave up, because he threw his hands up in a defeat and pointed out the obvious answer to her pointless and yet so very necessary question. "All we do is fight! I'm tired of it! I... I'm not…" He looked back down at the floor, sighing deeply. "I'm not in love with you anymore. But... Tori-"

The mention of her name passing through his lips that way had her eyes narrowing, her teeth clenching. She didn't need this, didn't need the whole sappy speech about how Tori understood him, made him laugh and smile and all those other wonderful things she wished she could do. God how she wished she'd just been nice to Tori: she'd lost track of how many times she'd thought back to the day they'd met and hated herself for being as insecure and selfish as she was. The wall she'd created between them that day was one she feared she'd never be able to tear down no matter how hard she tried. "Don't waste your breathe, Beck. I already know. Did you honestly think I don't see the way you look at her?"

_And were really so busy staring you couldn't see me looking at her the same way? I stopped loving you a long time ago, Beck. And I think you know that. I'm so sorry we've had to carry on with this whole charade... I wish I'd had the guts to end it. Maybe then we wouldn't be in this situation, maybe we would have both been happy by now... if only if only if only..._

When the tears started to flow it was obvious Beck thought they were for him. He kneeled down to comfort her but she smacked his hands away, pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face in her arms as the waterworks quickly got worse. With all she had to cry about, this should come as no surprise.

_How the hell did this happen? I tried everything humanly possible to keep her away from me, and it worked! But it backfired so hard. Now she hates me, just like I wanted, but I still feel the same way. If anything, I've got it worse! Now, not only do I get uncomfortably hot every time we're within five feet of each other, but the other night I'm pretty sure I had a dream about the two of us cuddling in her living room. Cuddling! I've sunk to dreaming about cuddling with Tori Vega. Oh, how the mighty have fallen... _

_And the cherry on top? My boyfriend, the one thing that's been keeping me grounded throughout this whole nightmare, is leaving me. For the one person in the world I want to be with. _

"This sucks…"

"I'm sorry, Jade."

"Yeah?" She chuckled bitterly, the sound muffled because her face was still hidden in her arms. "So am I."

This time when the hands came to rest on her shoulders and draw her into a hug she didn't bother resisting. She continued to cry, the utter hopelessness of her situation weighing on her like the world on Atlas' shoulders. How long she cried for didn't matter; whether it was five minutes or five hours she still felt (and probably looked) like crap when she was done.

The warm embrace loosened but didn't leave her, and as she wiped at her eyes Jade couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief and chuckle again. Beck wasn't the one comforting her; the coward had left her alone with her tears. He never could stand it when she cried.

So who was it that had there arms wrapped around her? Who was it that was looking at her with eyes full of sympathy and concern?

"Go away, Vega."


	3. Chapter 3

If in her head Tori had been expecting to find Jade crying alone in the Black Box Theatre, the notion hadn't had time to travel down her vertebrae and send her heart the message. The way she was looking at Jade, her eyes filled to the brim with sadness and something that in anyone else but Tori would have been pity...

But Jade knew Tori didn't pity her. You don't pity the people you care about.

And Tori _did_ care about her.

Despite everything Jade had done to push the other girl away Tori still cared, somewhere deep down. Sure, on the surface they couldn't stand each other… but if Tori didn't care about her she wouldn't bother putting up with her. After realizing that the other girl was there to stay, Jade gradually began to find herself looking forward to "spending time" with Tori. Teasing to get a rise out the half-Latina had always seemed to satisfy Jade's need for her attention; instead of intimidating, Vega's return fire had just intrigued and entertained her. And when teasing stopped being enough? Jade knew she was in trouble. Instead of backing off though, Jade just tried harder; her teases became all-out emotional assaults and every word out of her mouth was accompanied by a metaphorical dagger.

In hindsight, that was probably the worst thing she could have done; somehow Tori had seen past the harsh words and biting insults and glimpsed the vulnerability hiding behind them.

_Not your typical love story… but hey, typical is boring. No wonder she drives me crazy; our relationship is anything _but_ typical. _

"…do you wanna talk about it?"

_Talk about what, Vega? The fact that I'm head over heels for you? Do you want to talk about how, no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop you from scaling my walls and stealing your way into my heart? Would you like to hear all about how my boyfriend just broke up with me because he's in love with you too? Or maybe we should just skip all that and discuss how incredibly hopeless I am with this love crap._

"No."

She heard Tori exhale through her nose; not quite a sigh, but it spoke volumes.

Tori was the only girl she knew that could manage to be frustrated, hurt, angry, sympathetic and understanding at the same time. Her eyes flicked to the side, meeting Tori's, and she waited to see if the other girl would try and force an explanation from her. She wouldn't get one, Jade wasn't that weak, but it was still important for Jade to wait and see.

A minute passed with no questions, no words… only those eyes, begging silently, pleading her to open up. Jade felt the corner of her mouth twitch up in satisfaction.

_Thanks for not pushing it, Tori. _

She closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't sit here anymore; she needed to move, to do something. Gently untangling herself from Tori's embrace, she stood up, pulling her bag along with her. She wasn't going back to class, no way; the chances of seeing Beck in the hall or in class were too high. She wasn't going home either; she'd sooner turn herself in to the police for slashing her neighbor's tires.

…_Coffee. I'll get coffee. _

She started off without a word, and when Tori called out to her she didn't stop, instead casting a glance back over her shoulder and flashing a reassuring half-smile.

"Relax, Vega. I'm not gonna do anything stupid. I just need to get out of here for a little while."

"Want me to come with you?"

That did make her stop. Did she want Tori to come with her? Well, yes; that was a stupid question. But did Tori _need_ to come with her? Was it worth it for her to get in trouble for skipping just so she could keep an outwardly stone-cold Jade West company? It'd make her happy, thrilled even, but…

"…not this time, Vega."

Through the door she went, alone, on a quest for coffee, solitude, and peace of mind.

…But she'd be fine with two out of three.

* * *

Tori's eyes hadn't left Jade's empty desk. The lesson wasn't even intelligible, just background noise to the whirlwind of thoughts cycling through her head. She'd have to get notes from André later, and then he'd probably have to explain the notes to her after that. But right now, the only thing on her mind was Jade.

Tori didn't know what to make of Jade's attitude. The last time Beck and Jade had broken up, Jade had come to Tori a weeping, soggy mess of mussed-up hair and running mascara. And that was when _she'd_ broken up with _him. _Today, she didn't think that was the case.

She'd seen Beck leave the Black Box with his shoulders slumped and his eyes downcast; when he'd glanced back at the doors, pausing for a moment before shaking his head and moving on, she'd had this awful sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. And when she'd found Jade, slumped in a chair, bawling her eyes out, somehow she'd known that this time things were different. If Jade had broken up with Beck, she'd have been the one storming out of the theatre, leaving him dazed and confused in her angry wake.

Wrapping her arms the poor girl had been instinctive; admittedly Tori hadn't been that understanding when she'd first been alone with a sobbing Jade West, so today she'd resolved to do everything in her power to comfort the misunderstood performer.

Unfortunately, that of course meant listening to her.

She'd wanted so badly to press Jade for information, to get her to open up. But when she'd looked into those bloodshot, watery eyes they practically screamed "Please don't ask," and she found that she just couldn't. Saying something, anything, could have brought a second round of tears, possibly worse than the first. Then again, Tori wasn't sure letting Jade keep it bottled up inside was a good idea, and she wondered if the possibility of tears might have been a necessary risk. Then she'd let Jade walk away… she'd just let her walk away!

_I should have gone with her… shouldn't I? I mean, she told me she didn't want me to come with her, and yes I respected her wishes but… what if she does something stupid? She promised she wouldn't but this is Jade we're talking about; her definition of stupid is probably, well… skewed. _

Auto-pilot was engaged when the bell rang; she gathered up her books and walked to her locker as though in a haze, her head still clouded with thoughts of Jade, and concern for her well-being.

"Tori?"

Tori jumped, crying out in surprise as she whirled around to see who thought it was a good idea to sneak up on her when she was clearly mentally occupied. When she saw who it was her breathe got caught in her throat. Beck was standing there, one hand lost in his hair and the other shoved into his pocket. He gave her a sheepish little grin that lasted for but a moment before his face became solemn.

"Have you seen Jade? I didn't see her in class so I thought maybe you knew where she was."

She looked up at him suspiciously. The boy had just broken up with Jade (if her intuition proved right) and he was already asking about her?

_Of course he is, dummy. Even though they broke up that doesn't mean he doesn't still care about her._

"Why would I know where Jade is?"

"Because the last time we-" He paused, fidgeted, and stared at the floor, clearly uncomfortable. Tori couldn't really blame him, she knew what he was going to say, so she waited until he was ready. He breathed in deeply and then his words came out in a rush, "Because the last time we broke up she went to you so I thought that maybe she'd do the same thing this time. But if she didn't, well… just promise me something?"

"What?" He gaze at her oddly for a moment, something new and strange in his eyes as he looked at her, then put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in close.

"Promise me you'll look after her, okay? She's not as strong as she thinks she is."

"Beck…" Tori was blushing for several reasons: Beck's face being so close to her own… him asking her to look after Jade… the thought of Jade, hesitating when Tori had asked if she wanted company.

"Just promise me you'll try."

"I will." And he smiled at her, squeezing her shoulder and drawing her into a hug. She hugged back, surprised by the amount of force behind his embrace. It was almost like he was hugging for two. She pulled away first, eager to get home and start her homework… with her phone resting innocently just beside her textbooks should Jade try and contact her. She closed her locker and moved to leave, but when she saw that Beck was still smiling at her she paused, nervous out of nowhere.

Beck seemed to snap out of it after a moment; he blinked and straightened his posture, his smile faltering slightly. "So… I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah… sure."

He beamed at her again and raised two fingers in a goodbye salute that made her giggle before heading off to the South parking lot, where his car was parked. Trina parked in the East lot, so Tori turned and headed towards the double doors at the other end of the hall. As she stepped outside her Katy Perry ringtone went off, so she dug through her purse for her phone.

Just as she went to unlock the tiny device the strangest feeling came over her; there was a strange tightening between her shoulder blades and the desire to shiver began crawling up and down her spine. It was the feeling of being watched, and she only knew what that felt like because she'd caught Robbie spying on her when she'd been going out with that jerk Ryder Daniels. Tori looked around, left to right and she even glanced upwards (though she immediately felt silly after doing so), but saw no one.

Shrugging, she turned back to her phone.

'New Message from: Jade'

Her heart rate flew up and she hesitated when she went to open the message; she hadn't expected Jade to try and contact her this quickly. Was this a good sign or horrible one? Was Jade ready to talk, or was she bawling her eyes out again? Was she in trouble, or did she just want some company?

'I'm waiting in my car. If you're butt's not here in five minutes I'm leaving.'

'I'll be right there!'

She set off towards the parking lot, lengthening her stride until she was moving as fast as possible without running, not really certain what sort of state she'd find the other girl in… but eager to find out.


	4. Chapter 4

Seeing Tori with Beck makes Jade's blood boil. She's not really sure why. Was she hurt because Beck was already making a move? Had their relationship really meant that little to him? Was she jealous? Of who though? She may not have been in love with Beck anymore but she'd shared the past two years of her life with him. He was her closest friend… sometimes she'd thought he was her only friend. She didn't like to share what was hers. So… was she jealous of Tori? But she couldn't have been, she had… feelings for Tori. Uncontrollable feelings. So, did that mean she was jealous of Beck?

The crunch of her coffee cup and the heat running over tender flesh told her _Yes_ when Beck smiled that oh-so-charming smile and pulled Tori into a hug. Her nostrils flared as her hand continued to clench and more and more of the burning liquid seeped through the holes her nails etched in the cheap plastic.

_How dare he… bastard breaks up with me no more than five hours ago and he's already making his move. Dammit, Vega probably doesn't even realize what he's doing. I've seen that smile before… that's his charming nice-guy smile, the same smile he used on me when we first met! _

Her lip curled up in snarl, one perfectly white tooth exposed, sharp and dangerous. Looks like Beck wasn't the saint she'd always believed him to be; he was just a regular teenage guy, hormones and all. She was in no position to criticize though; it'd be downright hypocritical of her to hate him for wanting to move on and be with someone that never failed to make him smile. Why?

Because she wanted to do the same.

While she conceded that she rarely ever smiled in Tori's presence, that didn't change the fact that Tori always managed to work through the dregs of her heart and find the little slivers of gold her crap-shoot of a life had missed. Deceivingly vicious banter, shouting matches, even the occasional collaboration… though her lips never did more than twitch or curl, Jade began to cherish her time with Tori, and couldn't imagine a Hollywood Arts without her.

There had been one day when Tori had come down with a 24 hour bug and didn't show up for school; Jade had spent the entire day glaring at nothing, trying to find a way to entertain herself. And she'd never admit it out loud, but she'd silently stalked André all day, hoping someone might ask and he'd know when she'd be back.

It would have been out of character for her to go and ask him herself.

When her foot started to burn she looked down and cursed. Not only had she demolished her coffee cup, but the liquid life inside had dripped all down her arm and soaked through her converse. She was slightly surprised by how red the skin on her hand was; the coffee hadn't _seemed_ that hot. Transferring the demolished cup to a nearby trash can she tried to shake off the excess liquid, but when she glanced up and saw Beck waving goodbye to Tori she all but sprinted away.

Praying the half-Latina would take her time leaving the building, she lunged at her car door, yanked it open, and plopped down into the driver's seat. Leaning forward (and thanking God for tinted windows), she kept her gaze fixed on the door while her hands busied themselves with blindly digging through her purse for her phone.

With no Vega forthcoming, Jade spared a few moments to send the girl a quick, Jade-esque invitation.

'I'm waiting in my car. If you're butt's not here in five minutes I'm leaving.'

Once the message she was sent her eyes darted back up and she found that she'd texted not a moment too soon, for Tori had just stepped through the double doors. Jade watched her rummage through her bag for her phone, her heart hammering in her chest. It stopped abruptly when she saw Vega's brows furrow in confusion and she began to glance from side to side, as though searching for something. After a moment she shrugged, turning her gaze back to the device in her hands, and Jade let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Her phone buzzed.

'I'll be right there!'

_What, no smile?_

She made sure to unlock the doors before she slumped back in her seat and crossed her arms, sighing as she did so. As she waited, Jade began to think. If Beck was already making his move… why shouldn't she do the same? Sure, the odds of Vega choosing her over Beck Oliver were slim to none, but she'd never been one to just roll over and die.

_Vega's worth fighting for, isn't she? It's worth the risk… isn't it?_

Insecurities and harsh realities began to creep up on her.

_Am I just telling myself I'm willing to fight? Am I gonna just go cut up a trash can the first time I see them together, holding hands or whispering to each other? Vega's not the problem,, she's too sweet for her own good, but she likes guys, and I've been nothing but nasty to her… wouldn't flirting with her, teasing her without the bite, scare her off? Make her suspicious? And while I'm busy dancing on eggshells, Beck can swoop in, sweep her off her feet and leave me in the dark. _

_...I don't think I could take that. That whole 'better to have loved than lost' crap… is it really true?_

The sound of a car door opening snapped her out of it, and when she let her gaze slide over to meet Tori's, suddenly all her questions, all her concerns, went fleeing to the darkest parts of her mind. They may not have disappeared, but they wouldn't be bothering her for a while.

Not so long as that gentle, warm smile was directed at her.

"Took you long enough."

Tori rolled her eyes, obviously not upset. She'd been doing that a lot lately, Jade had the image recorded in her mind; the corner of the other girl's mouth would twitch up in a half-smile, the lightest of snorts would flare through her nostrils, and then the eyes would roll, twinkling as they settled back on hers.

"Sorry, I-" She paused, eyes leaving hers and widening in surprise. Jade cocked a brow, tempted to ask what was wrong. "Jade! What happened to you!? Your hand's all red and… why does it smell like coffee?"

Lifting her arm up to inspect the damage, Jade frowned down at the skin, which was indeed still red. Now her arm felt all sticky from the semi-dried coffee, and on top of that she'd need to wash her shoes.

"I split coffee on myself. Laugh and I'll throw you out on your butt."

"Well are you alright? You should run that under some cold water or something, or else it'll-"

"Fine. We'll go to your place." When Tori looked at her curiously, Jade met her gaze as evenly as she possibly could, trying to hide her nervousness and sudden excitement. "I wanna talk to you about what happened today."

_And maybe about what'll happen in the future._

…_baby steps, Jade._

She put the car in drive and sped out of the parking lot, a grin growing on her face when she heard Tori squeak in surprise, followed by the click of a seat belt buckle. "You could have waited 'til I had my seat belt on!"

"And you could have put it on when you first dropped in; safety first, Vega. Everyone knows that."

As they pulled up to a stop sign, Jade allowed herself a quick glance and saw Tori shaking her head, the slightest of smiles on her face. Dragging her gaze away, she passed through the intersection, and the rest of the ride slipped by in comfortable silence. She could tell that Tori was dying to drill her about where she'd been the last five hours and how she was doing and what not, but clearly she was willing to wait until they got to her house.

Tori told her to pull into the driveway and she complied; Trina wasn't home yet, thank God, and there were no other cars parked outside. That meant they'd have the house to themselves. When Jade went to put it in park she found that her hands were gripping the wheel so tightly her knuckles were bone-white; she had to flex her fingers before she could turn the car off, and even then she just remained seated, suddenly not so sure she could do this.

"…you alright?"

She gulped and nodded. Tori probably thought she was going to cry again, but she'd done enough of that for one day. Truth be told, when she'd first got in her car after the break-up she hadn't even had time to put the key in the ignition before the tears came again. This second round of tears was nowhere near as violent as the first; instead of sobs that wracked her entire body the tears had just rained silently down her cheeks.

"Yeah. Let's go."

She followed Tori to the door, trying to keep her eyes respectfully averted when the half-Latina leaned over to unlock it. She failed, but hey. At least she tried. Once they were inside she went for the couch, but a hand on her shoulder made her turn around. Tori was looking at her, one eyebrow raised. When Jade continued to stare at her blankly, she groaned and pointed to the kitchen.

Her mouth opening into a silent 'O,' Jade allowed herself to be led into the kitchen. Tori turned the sink on and gently took Jade's arm at the elbow, guiding it under the cool stream of water. When the water first made contact Jade winced, but soon enough the cold began to sooth the heat that still rolled off her skin and clean away the coffee residue left on her skin.

Tori left her side and headed to the freezer, grabbing a bag of frozen peas before returning to her side. Jade looked at her suspiciously. "You're not seriously gonna put frozen peas on me, are you?"

Tori looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Would you prefer a frozen steak?"

"Maybe." Tori stared at her, and Jade could tell she was trying to figure out if that had been a joke, or a serious request. "I was kidding, Vega."

"…good. Now, come on. Let's get you over to the couch." The water was turned off and before Jade had a chance to miss the cool relief Tori had pressed the frozen peas to her arm. Jade's breathe hitched in her throat when Vega's other arm came up and wrapped around her shoulder. She was again herded, this time to the couch.

She eased herself onto a cushion, Tori following her down. It was clear she didn't know what to do now that they were here; Jade could feel the tenseness in the other girl's muscles, waiting for a disapproving signal from her to send them back to their owner's sides. But Jade didn't want that, so she let her uninjured hand rest on Tori's, holding it there. Briefly she wondered if her hand was as cold as the frozen peas, or if it was just as warm as Tori's.

_Probably not. Tori's practically a fire with the way she glows, and I'm, well…_

She sighed, and before she could psych herself out any further, she started.

"Beck broke up with me. He… told me he wasn't in love with me anymore." Her eyes came up slowly, until they met Tori's. The half-Latina was gazing at her softly, her eyes creasing with worry and concern. The hand on her shoulder tightened, the thumb brushing gently back and forth over the cloth of her flannel. The warmth still seeped through, warming her even as the peas drained all the body heat from her arm. "When you found me I, well I guess… he never did like it when I was upset. Everyone, even him, they're so used to me being angry; when I'm anything but they don't know what to do with themselves."

"What did you do? You know, after you left. Where did you go?"

"I went to get coffee. I spilled it, and burnt myself."

"Well yeah, I can guess that much. Very smooth." Jade rolled her eyes and Tori smiled tentatively as she shifted the bag of peas to examine the burn. Jade watched her do it, gazing down fondly at the youngest Vega but being sure to look away when Tori put the bag back in place, raising her eyes again. "So you came back to school to get me? To talk about it? I guess you're gonna want me to-"

"_No._ No. I don't need you to get us back together. I don't want you to. If he says he doesn't love me anymore, then he doesn't love me anymore. There's nothing I can do about that."

Tori gazed at her, brow furrowed. "You're taking this… kinda well. Like, really well. Are you sure you're okay?"

Jade gazed back, a million different thoughts cycling through her head, all of them having to do with the beautiful, caring girl sitting beside her. She wanted so very badly to just confess everything right then and there and screw the consequences.

"Who knows? Maybe I stopped loving him too."

And even as Tori 's eyes darkened skeptically, Jade couldn't help herself. "Maybe I've fallen in love with someone else."


	5. Chapter 5

"Maybe I've fallen for someone else."

_Did I hear that right?_

Tori stared at Jade, dumbfounded. Her jaw had gone slack, her mind blank. Jade, in love with someone else? How could that be? _Who_ could that be? Jade hated everybody… well, everybody except Beck. Tori had only ever seen Jade happy when she was with him; aside from the night of her play when her father had told her he'd thought it was excellent. She'd been happy then.

Other than that? The girl seemed to wear a perpetual scowl, one that Tori had taken several cracks at but still failed to break. Anyone that irritated her (which was really anybody that tried to talk to her when she wasn't in the mood) was quickly put in their place, and most people were often too afraid to try it a second time.

Tori wasn't one of those people though; for some reason she felt this bizarre need to make nice with the psychotic, bitter, scissor-loving maniac, and when Tori got something in her head she rarely let it go. She could be incredibly stubborn to that effect.

Jade had leaned in, as though this was some sort of monumentally outrageous secret that, if heard by the wrong ears, could lead to the death of millions. Crisp green eyes intense, Jade was clearly waiting for some kind of reaction: a reaction a bit more intelligent than the one she was currently getting, which involved nonsensical sputtering and blank eyes.

"Tori?"

A hand on her knee, warm and soft and so not Jade… eyes filled with curiosity and concern, flicking southward… probably checking to see if she was still breathing…

"…but, you and Beck…"

The green eyes came closer and warm, mint-fresh breathe began to tickle her skin. They were less concerned now that she was speaking; now they shined only curiously, though the curiosity had grown in intensity, to the point where looking at Jade suddenly made her nervous.

"_But you and Beck make such a good couple!"_ Jade jumped back as though stung, her eyes going wide. Her hand came away and remained suspended in the air, thin fingers curled back. Tori went on, "I mean, you always seemed to be so happy when you were with him! I've seen your videos on the Slap; the one where he gave you the noogie was so cute! All the PDA and the time-outs and the banter, plus you're both crazy good-looking and you just work so well together… you're like the Hollywood Arts 'it' couple! You can't break up!"

"Tori… we don't love each other anymore."

"I know he said that, but maybe he just-"

"Tori!" Now, she may not have been Italian, but that didn't mean Tori didn't like to use her hands when she talked. In fact, she loved it; she flung her hands around to and fro when she needed to emphasize something or prove a point… and have you ever heard the joke about tying an Italian's hands together to get them to stop talking? Apparently it works, because when Jade grabbed her wrists and brought her wild gesticulations to a halt, Tori fell silent.

Jade was halfway to serious and yet so very close to laughing that her mouth continually twitching between a frown and a grin, never staying still. The grip on her wrists was gentle yet firm; there was no way Tori was getting away, so she was forced to be quiet and listen.

Green eyes bored into hers, blocking out all else. "_I'm_ not in love with _him_ anymore. Me, not him. I don't care what he says- okay, well maybe I do… but I know for a fact that I don't love him anymore. Not the way I used to. I realized that when he walked away and left me to cry by myself. I realized it when-" She paused, eyes sinking to the floor. The faintest of blushes rose in those alabaster cheeks, and just as Tori went to ask what was wrong, Jade's conclusion came out in a rush. "The point is, it was gonna happen anyway."

"What do you mean?"

The eyes came back up, but Jade must have realized she was still clutching Tori's wrists because they flicked back down, widened, and suddenly the other girl dropped them as if they were live snakes. Well, like any normal girl would have dropped live snakes. Tori wasn't so sure what Jade would do if she found herself with a live reptile in her hand.

Hands now clenched tightly in her lap, Jade spoke, bitterness lacing every word. "Those cute, sappy videos on the Slap? Most of them are like a year old, at least. And just in case you were in some kind of mental coma these past few months, we've been arguing. A lot. More so than usual, about everything. It just wasn't working anymore."

Tori chewed at her bottom lip, unsure of what to say. Jade wasn't looking at her anymore; she was retreating, Tori could see it in the tightness of her shoulders, the shocking white of her knuckles, and the clench of her jaw. And just when Jade was finally opening up to her!

_Maybe if I can keep her talking…_

"Why wasn't it working?"

Jade give her a look that couldn't have been taken as anything less than an incredulous "Really?" but Tori didn't back down. She met Jade's glare, her eyes completely serious, and soon enough Jade sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes for effect.

"I don't know! It just- we stopped loving each other! I told you that!"

"Why?" Jade practically growled, turning away and resting her elbows on her knees, her hands steepling beneath her chin.

"You're really annoying Vega, you know that? Ugh, I don't know… maybe he just finally got sick of me. Of putting up with me. Everyone else has… you will too, eventually. Even _you_ can't be that much of a saint." Tori noted with a frown that the other girl's words were becoming less biting and more self-pitying; there was a certain sadness to them, almost bordering on misery. "Beck always thought that he could turn me into some kind of sweetheart, break down my walls and drag out the pearl hidden underneath the dirty, salty, barnacle-infested shell. But my walls don't work like that, you can't just break through them…"

Jade trailed off, her eyes going wide, and suddenly her back was ram-rod straight again. Green eyes crept up to meet hers, and somehow Tori knew that Jade had just figured something out, something important.

"…you'd have to climb over them." Jade stared at her in wonder, and Tori couldn't help but grin. "And I just realized, Beck didn't do that. He just tried knocking them down, and every time he chipped away a piece he thought it came away bigger than it actually was, so in no time at all I'd snap again and he'd get frustrated. I think that's why_ I_ got sick of _him_; I don't need someone that'll try and change me, take me out of my comfort zone because they think that's the right thing to do. I need someone that understands that I'm always going to be me; I'm never gonna just build a drawbridge and let it hang open 24/7… anyone that wants to see what I'm really like behind my walls is gonna have to earn it. They're gonna have to fight for it."

Jade was practically beaming by the time she was done, and Tori couldn't help but beam back.

_She has such a beautiful smile…_

"I think this is the first time I've seen you smile when you weren't with him."

Tori grinned when Jade blushed, giggling when the smile split into a happy little laugh.

"And? How's it look?"

Tori reached out and put a hand on Jade's shoulder, her grin softening back into a tender and reassuring smile, because even though Jade's eyebrows were raised confidently she couldn't hide the cloud of dark insecurity in her eyes. "It's beautiful."

Forget pink, Jade's cheeks were red now, and Tori gently squeezed her shoulder before standing. She headed into the kitchen, feeling Jade's eyes on her, and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet. She retrieved the pink lemonade from the fridge and poured, looking back over her shoulder when both cups were full. "So… does this make us friends now?"

Jade blinked at her once, surprised. "I spill my poor, bleeding heart out to you and the only thing you're concerned about is giving our relationship a label?"

"Human beings live off their labels, Jade. You should know that by now; we're in Hollywood for crying out loud. And yes, I am. So, friends?"

Jade grinned slyly at her. "Do I still get lemonade if I say 'no'?"

Tori was already halfway to the couch, a cup gripped in both hands, but she still said, "No," before she sat back down on the cushion next to Jade's, grinning. Jade seemed to think about it for a moment, making musing noises as her eyes went up to the ceiling, like she might find the answer there.

"No." Tori's mouth fell open in shock and a hurt little groan came from deep within her throat, but Jade put a hand on her knee again to silence her, her eyes alight with mischief. "Cat's my friend, but I wouldn't go spilling my guts to Cat. Anyone who would needs to have their head examined. You're my… confidante."

"…and… that is?"

"Someone you share all your deepest, darkest secrets with. Someone you trust." Jade was smiling at her again, not grinning, and there was a certain vulnerability to it, a certain shyness, that made Tori's heart melt. The light in her eyes was no longer quite so mischievous, either.

"Aww…"

Without even thinking about it Tori pulled Jade into a one-armed hug, which the other girl could not return because both hands were full (one wrapped in peas and the other clutching her glass) but Tori could feel her lean into it, and that made her smile. She missed the look of pure, unbridled joy that lit up Jade's face as her eyes slid shut and she sighed contentedly into Tori's hair. The half-Latina saw the remnants of it when she pulled away, and the open contentment softening the pale features just made her want to squeal like a little girl in a pet store full of adorable puppies.

"So… this guy you like," Jade's smile faltered, her brows beginning to narrow as Tori went on. "Do I know him?"

Jade bit at her bottom lip… and for some reason Tori found that she couldn't look away. She gulped, her hand clenching around her glass, unsure of how exactly she managed to lose control over her eyes.

"Look… let's try for one secret at a time, okay? I'm not ready to-"

Realizing her mistake immediately, Tori put a hand out, her words coming out in a rush as she tried to fix her mistake. "Oh, Jade! I'm so sorry, I-I shouldn't have, I mean… I should have known you'd be- ugh, I'm such an idiot!"

"Yeah, you are." But Jade was grinning at her over the rim of her glass, so Tori let it slide. She slumped back against the couch, breathing a sigh of relief. Jade settled back too, readjusting the frozen peas on her arm before closing her eyes. The pair remained silent for a while, only the sound of sipping breaking the silence. Tori thought about turning on the TV, but decided against it.

"Hey." Tori turned to Jade, one eyebrow raised curiously. "Remember that flower you found in your locker on your birthday?" Tori nodded ascent. "Did you, you know… ever find out who put it there?"

"Not yet, and I know you think it was stupid but I'm not gonna stop 'til I do. I thought it was sweet. Anyone who would go to that much trouble obviously cares a lot, so they've gotta be a real sweetheart and I can't wait to meet them. I mean, I've had boyfriends that didn't do that much for me on Valentine's Day!"

Jade looked at her skeptically. "Well maybe you just have horrible taste in guys, and when this secret admirer finds out what you're really like they'll run for the hills."

"Well I can't be all that bad, considering this is the second time you've come to me with _your_ relationship problems. If I'm good enough for Jade West, I think that anyone at Hollywood Arts would be lucky to have me!"

"Luckier than you know."

Tori's eyes widened in shock, heat flaring up in her cheeks as she stared dumbly at Jade, who was now smiling that soft, vulnerable smile that apparently had this knack for turning the half-Latina's heart into a soppy pile of goo.

Her cheeks were still pink when she saw Jade to the door a few hours later, her arm properly taken care of and the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders.

"So I'll see you at school tomorrow? It's in the confidante's job description to be there when the poor soul faces their fears."

"Of course! Just be careful when you're driving home, so you make it to tomorrow."

Jade laughed, throwing a careless wave over her shoulder as she strolled to her car, her hips swinging with their usual confidence. It was hypnotizing really, and Tori thought that maybe the next time they were together Jade could teach her how to do that…

The spell was broken when the hips stopped, Jade hesitating with her hand on the car door. Another wave, this time sincere, and Jade looked at her for another long moment before sliding in and pulling away.

* * *

**Boom, I'm fast. Hey there, this is Celery Sticks! Thought I'd leave a note because I have two things to say:**

**One - this chapter came so quickly because I'm leaving for Italy tomorrow and won't be back for ten days, so I thought I'd try and get another one in before I left.  
**

**Two - I have a request for everyone who has this one their 'Favorite Stories' list. TELL ME WHY! PLEASE! It's crazy the amount of feedback I'm getting, and when I saw that over 50 people have this on their 'Alerts' list I squealed in joy. But not everyone is leaving feedback, and I'd very much appreciate it if you all could just leave me a review telling me why this is worthy of being on your list.  
**

**Other than that? Enjoy the chapter and look forward to chapters to come.  
**

**Buona lettura!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

The next day Tori made sure to get to school a full ten minutes before either Jade or Beck was scheduled to arrive. Sure, this involved waking Trina up half an hour early so she could perform her daily "singing exercises" and "beauty routines," and then shoveling breakfast down her throat even as the eldest Vega complained about not getting enough beauty sleep.

A frustrated "You don't need eight hours of beauty sleep," was misinterpreted as a compliment and Trina, gushing with pride, was dressed and ready to go in record time. Unfortunately, that pride prompted her to sing twice as loud as she normally did on the drive over and by the time they got to school Tori was sure her ears were bleeding.

"I can't believe I'm related to that walking headache…" One hand tended to her throbbing ear, the other digging through her purse for her phone to check the time.

_7:46… Beck should be here in like five minutes, but Jade probably won't show up 'til, well… later. What time _does_ Jade come to school? Now that I think about it, she always just seems to appear when the bell rings… like she was being summoned or something. _

A bizarre image of Beck dressed as a wizard, fake beard and all, waving a magic wand made her giggle. By the time she got to her locker she was biting her lip, trying to contain her laughter, the thought of Jade appearing in a puff of black smoke somehow hilarious when it should have been terrifying. Tori took a moment to calm herself before dialing in her combination. Her locker swung open and she grabbed the necessary textbooks, shoving them into her bag as the sound of students entering the building and doing the same began to grow louder. Just as she went to shut the door a single, small book caught her eye: the textbook that Jade had borrowed in pristine condition, then returned painted completely black.

"Oh, Jade…"

"Speak of the devil and she shall appear, Vega."

Tori jumped, shrieking as she swung around, her locker slamming shut. The hand that had held it open flew up to her chest, pressing firmly against her now-thundering heart as though that might somehow still its pace. "Oh my God, Jade, don't do that!"

Jade West stood before her, one hand on her hip and the other hanging unoccupied at her side. The other girl's lips were curled up in a smirk and her chin was tilted up in its usual confident, careless manner. Mint green eyes were alight with mirth and mischief, and Tori (despite still being in the throes of shock) couldn't help but be happy for her. It looked like what Jade had said about being alright was true; less than 24 hours after the break-up she seemed to be back to her usual self.

A quick analysis of the other girl's outfit would tell her for sure, though. Being female herself, Tori knew that you could always tell how a girl was really feeling by what she was wearing. Yesterday Jade had went with jeans, old converse and a loose flannel (proof that she'd been in a bad mood before the day had even started) but today…

Mocha brown eyes drifted downwards... and suddenly Tori was anxious for no apparent reason.

Jade had gone all-out today. Her hair was perfect, falling down around her shoulders and framing her face in that carelessly coifed way that was too perfect to be natural and yet so loose and free it was hard to believe those ebony waves were anything but. Her makeup was perfect too; the green in Jade's eyes seemed to shine with a life of its own thanks to the stark black mascara and purple eye shadow. Her lips (Tori found herself lingering on those for maybe a second more than was necessary) were bright and pink and glistening. Jade was wearing a tight black long-sleeved shirt with curling streaks of pale emerald that, after a moment's consideration on Tori's part, formed a dozen dark, tiny butterflies. The black ruffled skirt and stockings gave her figure that classic ballerina thinness and fragility, but the black combat boots and confident tilt of her head made the outfit distinctly Jade.

Tori's mouth had gone dry. Jade was definitely over it.

"Do what? Grace you with my presence?" Even her voice was back to normal, though Tori detected a new sense of familiarity hidden in there somewhere, a soft, playful tone hidden underneath the taunt.

"Appear out of nowhere and scare the pants off of me!"

Jade's smirk settled into a considering little curl at the corner of her mouth and her eyes left Tori's, traveling southwards. The simmering intensity in the other girl's eyes had Tori's breathe hitched up in her throat, her hands clenching around the strap of her bag.

"Looks to me like your pants are still on, Vega." Jade's gazed lingered briefly before her eyes climbed back up to Tori's; a moment passed before the pierced eyebrow went up and Jade drawled, "And here I thought good girls were supposed to be honest!"

Tori narrowed her eyes at the use of Jade's 1940-Tori impersonation and the implication that she was a "good girl," which for some reason fiercely irritated her.

"I am _so_ not a good girl! Remember the Gorilla Club?"

"I remember you admitting to hovering, then getting tackled by the gorilla, yes." Tori opened her mouth to retort, but the open-mouthed little grin on Jade's face betrayed the taunt and the half-Latina couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. When she looked back up though the grin was gone and Jade was frowning, green eyes staring over Tori's shoulder. Tori matched her frown and tried to turn her head, but a hand on her arm made her stop. "It's Beck."

Tori nodded in silent understanding then retrieved her phone once more to check the time. They had eight minutes before class started; too early for the two of them to head to the classroom but she couldn't imagine Jade would want to spend the next five minutes standing awkwardly in the same hallway as her ex-boyfriend. She could feel eyes digging into her back too, and she knew that this was probably just as awkward for Beck. It'd be best if she could get Jade out of the hall and out of sight for a few minutes before they went to class, and she chewed at her bottom lip as she wracked her brain.

When she thought of something, her eyes lit up and she practically shouted, "You wanna go get coffee?"

"Coffee?" The sudden excitement in the other girl's eyes made Tori grin, mentally high-fiving herself as she nodded enthusiastically. "Where are we gonna get coffee? You're not suggesting we skip, are you? I mean, I could care less, but you don't really seem like the type to-"

"We're not skipping, I just know a guy. Come on!" Tori reached for Jade's wrist and proceeded to drag the other girl along behind her, smile growing on her face.

It didn't take long for them to reach the school cafeteria, an extremely under-used and under-appreciated place. Many of the students preferred eating at the Asphalt Café, not because they served better food but because they lived in Hollywood, and Hollywood was beautiful. Why eat inside when you could outside in a beautiful place? Tori had found out a long time ago though that the cafeteria was the better choice when the Café was too crowded or the weather was less than beautiful. Plus, she had an in with the cafeteria crewmen.

"Marco? Marco! You in here?"

"Tori? Tori Vega? Is that you makin' all that noise?" Marco came out from kitchen, rubbing his hands on his apron. He was half-Latina like herself, an older man in his late 40s, and very sweet. Very loud, too. Honest and open. He reminded her of her Uncle Rico, and it wasn't just their matching beer bellies.

"Hey, Marco. How ya been?"

"Nothin' to complain about, maybe except you not comin' by to pay me a visit for a week." Marco laughed when Tori shrugged her shoulders, grinning apologetically. "But enough about me. What d'ya need?"

"Coffee for a friend?" Tori pulled Jade forward, noting with a grin that the other girl seemed totally out of her element in the presence of two such open, familiar people. The confidence had receded and been replaced by a narrowing of the eyes, a slight clench of the jaw.

"Sure thing! Just brewed a fresh pot. How do you like it? Sugar, milk, cream, you name it." Jade blinked once, then politely (if a bit suspiciously) asked for sugar and cream. A little bit of both, when Marco asked for specifics. When the large man moved back into the kitchen to get her coffee, she turned to Tori with one eyebrow practically at her hairline.

"How do you know this guy? And how did I not know he made coffee?"

Tori's grin stretched wider. "Didn't you know that all Latinos know each other? That, and I guess being a 'good girl' has its advantages." She'd used air quotes to emphasize the sarcasm on the "good girl," nickname and giggled when Jade rolled her eyes.

Marco soon came back with a nondescript Styrofoam cup in his hand, a plastic red stirring stick rising up above the rim. He gave it to Jade and crossed his arms, eyebrows raising expectantly when she raised the cup to her lips.

Jade's eyes went wide before sliding shut as she immediately dived back in for a second swig. She sighed contentedly after she swallowed, eyes still closed in a dreamy expression of pleasure. Marco laughed. "I guess your friend likes it, eh Tori?"

"What can I say? She likes coffee."

Jade's eyes flashed open, happy and alert. "I _love_ coffee. Like, love it. I would marry coffee, I love it so much."

The big man laughed again, dusting his hands off before extending one. "Well I'll tell you what. You come to me any morning before the first bell rings, I'll get you some. No charge. How's that sound?"

Jade regarded the hand and the man it belonged to for a moment before simultaneously shaking it with her own and bringing the cup back up for a third helping, looking away as she did so. Tori watched the exchange with a grin and checked the time once more. They had three minutes until class started, so Tori tapped Jade on the shoulder and nodded to the door, waving goodbye to Marco before the two headed off to class together.

As they walked down the hall together, the only noise was the sound of Jade sipping, and Tori couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Not only had she killed enough time so that Jade wouldn't be forced to endure all the pitying glances from kids that weren't even in their classes or have to be around Beck any longer than was necessary, but now Jade had a friend in the cafeteria. A friend that could make her coffee any morning she couldn't get it on her own.

_And now I know she loves coffee. Way to go, me!_

The awkward sound of utter silence filled her ears, and when Tori glanced to the side she saw Jade frowning into the cup. "Something wrong?"

"It's all gone." Jade looked up at her, hope shining in her eyes. "Can we just skip and get more?"

"No, Jade." Before the other girl could retort, Tori carried on, "What's it gonna look like if you don't show up for class the day after Beck breaks up with you? You've gotta be there to prove to everyone that you're both over it and you're both ready to move on. You're Jade West, and Jade West doesn't run."

Jade stared at her, eyes wide, before busting out into laughter. Tori's "serious face" fell into a frowning mess of confusion.

"Jeez, Vega! All I wanted was more coffee; your buddy Marco makes a great blend. I fully intend to go to class, and if you knew 'Jade West' as well as you seem to think you do you'd know I don't give a damn what people think. I'm already the school psychopath, it can't really get much worse than that. That's how I like it, anyway; keeps the stupid people at a respectful distance. The only person I need to prove anything to is Beck; he's the one that needs to see 'Jade West'. Now, since you're so concerned about my reputation, let's just go inside and get this over with."

And Tori blinked, finding herself staring into the open doorway of Sikowitz's classroom. Jade stood beside her, smirking, leaning against the door she was holding open. She made a grand sweeping gesture with her hand, and Tori felt heat rise in her cheeks. Embarrassed, she ducked into the classroom, Jade following.

Thankfully, they weren't the last to arrive, but Beck was already there. He'd looked up at the sound of her entrance, his dark eyes flicking over her shoulder to glance at Jade before coming back to hers. His brows knit together, eyes curious. She gave a slight nod, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. He smiled in return, tentatively, relief flooding his face and through to his shoulders, which were no longer as tense as they'd been when she'd walked in.

Jade brushed past her, settling into one of two open chairs in the front row. She dropped her bag onto the floor and settled into the seat, crossing her arms when she was comfortable then looking at Tori out of the corner of her eye. She nodded at the chair next to her then turned her gaze to the front of the room, entire figure tense.

Tori inhaled, exhaled, flashed Beck one last smile, then went to sit down. Plopping her bag down next to Jade's, she looked up and saw that Jade's jaw was locked, her hands trying to clench into fists but hindered by the fact that her arms were in the way so she had to settle for simply digging in as far as her fingers would go.

Tori reached out and laid a hand on the one closest to her, hoping to be a source of warmth and security. Jade's form immediately loosened, if only slightly. The hand underneath her own unclenched, and Tori saw the pale line of her jaw loosen as Jade let loose a long, shaky exhale. Tori tightened her grip for a moment before pulling away.

Sikowitz entered the classroom a few moments later, sans shoes, as always. As he began the lesson, she felt Jade scoot closer to her, so that their shoulders were touching.

She became thankful they were sitting in the front row; it would have been bad if the other students were to see her grinning like an idiot.

* * *

**Hey guys :D**

**Back from Italy, as you can see. I had an wonderful time. Eating gelato every day really makes a person happy, though I'm gonna have to run it all off now that I'm home. I want to say thank you to everyone that reviewed; the response was great, and I hope I continue to make you guys happy!  
**

**I'd like to apologized as well; I always take the time to respond to each and every review but I literally just got back and I had no computer access for the past ten days so I couldn't reply to your reviews. I will be doing that today, so don't hate me!  
**

**Enjoy the chapter!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Tori was leaning up against the wall outside the girl's bathroom, the remnants of a smile (and a blush) lighting up her face with a subtle, glowing warmth.

Beck swallowed loudly, hand clenching around the strap of his backpack. He was nervous; yesterday he'd been so worried about Jade… and so completely at a loss as to what to do about his feelings for Tori. Today was no different… if anything today was worse.

Tori had been creeping her way into his heart from her very first day at Hollywood Arts. Every day she dug down a little deeper, and now he found it hard to look at any other girl without comparing that girl to Tori. Tori was always slimmer, smarter, sweeter… and it sucked. It really sucked. It wasn't like he could just ask her out…

Why couldn't he ask her out? Because Jade needed her. He couldn't take Tori away from her, not so soon after the break up.

He may not have been in love with her anymore, but Jade was still his best friend. He cared about her, and right now he needed to take care of her before he saw to his own needs. Beck didn't really understand it, but even though Jade treated Tori like dirt it was always Tori that Jade took her problems to. Like when Jade had broken up with him that first time; she'd immediately run to Tori for help, for comfort. It had been happening slowly, but Jade was definitely starting to open up to the half-Latina… and Beck had to admit he was a little jealous. It had taken a long time for her to open up to him that way.

But he couldn't be mad at Tori, or even Jade. He knew that Jade felt the same way he did; she wasn't in love with him anymore either. This was just proof that they weren't meant to be together… if they were meant for each other then they wouldn't have constantly been fighting, and when they kissed the fire should have burnt as hot as it first did in the beginning.

But it didn't. Now his heart burned for someone else, and one day Jade's would do the same.

Tori would just have to help her get through the break-up first.

Gathering his courage, Beck breathed out through loose lips that quickly lifted in a poor attempt at a smile and strode quickly to Tori's side. She didn't see him coming, and Beck had to swallow again before he could get the words out.

"Hey, Tori." When Tori turned to him and grinned, Beck's smile became real and his confidence began to trickle back. "How's it going?"

"Great! Really great," she tilted her chin but kept her eyes on him so that her irises were nestled in the corners of her almond-shaped eyes, giving her expression a proud, confident look. "I kept my promise."

"You did more than keep it; she already looks like she's over it!" Eyes darting up and down the corridor, he leaned in close and whispered, as though afraid Jade might appear out of nowhere, "Where is she?"

Tori eyes fluttered nervously and her chin came back down, her expression no longer quite so confident now that he was so close. Beck cheered internally. So Tori _wasn't_ completely uninterested in him…

_I was worried she might not see me that way. One less thing to worry about for now, I guess. I can figure this all out once I'm sure Jade's alright._

"She's in the bathroom. I offered to go in with her, but she just rolled her eyes and told me to wait out here. She said I could only go in if I heard screaming… and that if I did to bring the nurse."

Beck cocked a brow. "The nurse?"

"She didn't say, but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that it'd be something like some idiot girl making a stupid comment and getting… intimate… with Jade's scissors."

That made him laugh. Tori always made him laugh, oddly enough only after she'd gotten closer to Jade. Jade could be quite funny when it suited her… it was a dry humor, of course. Tori seemed to be subconsciously taking notes, because recently she'd been more willing to make jokes at other people's expense. Never anyone that she cared about of course, or anyone that had never done her wrong. That was the difference between Tori and Jade; Jade didn't care if she hurt other people, not a bit. Tori was far more sensitive than that; far more people-friendly.

"Well I don't hear screaming, so I guess it's all good." Tori nodded, still smiling, before an awkward silence settled over them. Beck wasn't really sure what he should say next; should he ask about Jade again… or would Tori think that he was still into her if he did? But if he didn't, maybe she'd think he was heartless, which was so not true.

_Girls should come with manuals. _

"So… how are you taking all of this?"

Beck blinked, looking down at her curiously. "Well… I mean, better than she is, I guess. It sucks, but if we don't love each other anymore, then we shouldn't be together. And I know Jade was a bit… emotional… yesterday, but trust me. She doesn't love me anymore, either." Tori was looking at him skeptically, so he immediately raised his hands in defense and continued, "I'm not the bad guy here! I just… I want us to be with people that really make us happy, you know? This isn't just for me!"

Tori continued to stare at him for a moment, eyebrow perked, before questioning, "How do you _know_ she's not in love with you anymore?"

Beck breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Tori wasn't upset with him. He chuckled before he answered. "Trust me, when Jade's in love with someone, they know it. She's all over you when she's in love; she constantly wants to be held or kissed and she'll never stop asking you to tell her you love her. And she doesn't just receive, she gives. Actually, she gives a whole lot, once you've earned it. When we first started going out she was always kissing me or holding my hand or whispering in my ear." He thought back fondly on their first year as a couple, wondering just when it stopped being love and turned into habit. "When she stopped reaching for my hand… when I realized she hadn't asked me to tell her I loved her in weeks…"

"…you knew it was over?"

Beck nodded sadly. "Yeah. I just hope that after this all blows over, we can still be friends. I don't want her out of my life; I just want us both to be happy. We aren't going to be happy if we try and force this."

Tori nodded understandingly. Her head tilted and she gazed up at him curiously… it was really kind of adorable. Beck was so busy staring and grinning stupidly that he almost missed what she said next.

"Is there another girl?"

Heat rose up in his cheeks and the urge to tell her, spill everything to her and hope for the best, came with it. His sanity thankfully kept the words back, but left his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water. "Uh…"

"You can tell me, really! I'm not mad or anything, and I won't tell Jade! Promise!"

Beck stared down at her, his brows drawn together in thought. Should he tell her? He wanted to… so badly, and it wasn't like he could just lie and say he liked some other girl. Who knows what Tori might do; she'd probably try and get them together, then work on finding Jade a new boyfriend. And with the way she was looking at him… she wouldn't believe him if he said he wasn't interested in anyone.

His body decided before his brain did and he got even closer, taking a step towards her and leaned in close again.

"You really want to know?"

Tori looked nervous all of sudden; her hands were gripping her books with such force that her knuckles stood out against her tan, and she couldn't keep eye contact with him. He on the other hand, was no longer quite so nervous… and he was gazing down at her, trying to catch her eye and maybe possibly convey everything he felt for her, without words. Tori was really blushing now, those beautiful cheekbones colored up all rosy red, and she was so close he could smell her perfume.

_Mango…_

The tense silence was broken when someone cleared their throat, loudly. They both looked up and Beck felt his stomach turn over.

Jade had come out of the bathroom.

And she looked _pissed._

* * *

_I can't believe this guy! _Jade stood with her arms crossed, expression fierce. _Not only do I have to listen to all his crap about breaking up being good for us (never mind that I agree, it was still way too sappy) but now he tries to confess everything to her the day after he does it? He hasn't even moved away yet, he's still so close to her…_

Jealousy welled up in her and she stomped over to Tori's side, forcing Beck a few steps back with nothing more than the power of the fierce anger rolling off of her in waves. It was a talent of hers, all in the eyes.

"So… what's goin' on? You both talking shrink about me? Worried I might wither up and die now that I don't have Beck Oliver to keep me warm and loved?" Tori was sputtering at her side, trying to apologize, but Jade kept her eyes trained on Beck. She wasn't mad at Tori, if anything she was overjoyed that Tori was still here and still ready to help her in any way she could. Beck on the other hand… she _was_ angry with him. "Well you don't need to worry about that. One thing you actually managed to get right: I _did_ stop loving you a long time ago."

She took a step towards him, and he took a step back, extremely uncomfortable. "I don't need you to protect me and I don't need you to change me! I'll never be the eccentric little sweetheart you always thought you could turn me into… and maybe you realized that. Did you finally give up? Is that why this is all coming up now?"

"Jade, I-"

"Well guess what Beck: I don't need you, and I know what you're trying to do. Unfortunately, it's not gonna work, so maybe you should just give up on that, too."

Beck narrowed his eyes at her, no longer afraid. Now he looked angry, harsh lines scratched against his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

She saw him glance over her shoulder at Tori, his eyes going soft for a moment (she grit her teeth in response) before coming back to her and hardening again. He stared for another moment before reaching out for her wrist and dragging her away. She went willingly; there were some things he needed to know… some things she needed to make clear.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw Tori standing there, waiting for a signal from her. She smiled. Somehow she knew that Tori would only come after her if Jade wanted her too; she knew Jade cold take care of herself.

She mouthed a silent 'It's okay,' and smiled again. When Tori smiled back, albeit a bit nervously, Jade let her gaze linger for a moment before turning back around and following Beck to the janitor's closet.

Once inside, Beck slammed the door and turned to her with the most serious expression she'd ever seen marring his face. It surprised her, actually, how fierce he looked all of a sudden.

"Look Jade, I know you're mad at me, but you have no right to get between me and Tori!"

She sneered. _He's acting like they're already a couple! _"And why not? Do you even know if she likes you that way?"

"I know there's a chance! A chance that I won't have if you stick your dirty scissors into it! I swear Jade, I knew you could get nasty when you were pissed, but to try and ruin my chances with another girl… where do you get off? You know I'm a good guy, why wouldn't you just want what's best for me? If I go out with Tori and you find someone else people will just be able to move on; _we'll _be able to move on! Why would you be so bitter about this? You said it yourself: you're not in love with me anymore either! So why would you care if I date someone else?"

"First off, I happen to keep my scissors perfectly clean. Secondly, it's because-"

Beck held a hand up to stop her, one finger jutting out at her accusingly. "Don't you dare try and tell me it's because you don't like her. Don't you dare. I _know_ you don't mean all those things you say about her; she's always the one you run to when you're miserable. Don't you dare try and tell me you don't care about her."

Jade stood there, shell-shocked. Beck had never yelled at her like this before; it wasn't in his nature. He was practically seething, and she found that all of her confidence, all of her resolve, had fled. If she hadn't been Jade West, she probably would have been sobbing by now, or at the very least scared. But she _was_ Jade West, so she was just in shock… and even that didn't last long.

She knew what she had to do. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it had to be done.

Jade looked up at him sadly, noting with a frown that Beck's eyes were dark with hurt and anger. She sighed. "You're right. I do care about Tori." The angle of Beck's brows loosened and the threat left his posture, but he still looked angry. He opened his mouth to speak but she pressed on. "More than you know."

"What do you mean?"

Jade took a shaky breathe, hands clenching at her sides. "I… do like Tori. Like, _like_ her. I don't want you with her because I- well, I… I want-"

"What the hell are talking about?" Jade looked up at him, eyes going wide. Beck stared down at her with confusion and disgust growing in his eyes. "The hell do you mean you _like_ like her?"

"Beck, I…" Jade felt a flash of sharp pain cut across her palm and realized she'd been clenching her fists so hard that cut into her skin. Looking down, seeing the blood made her realize that they'd never get out of this closet unless she told him the truth: the whole truth. Otherwise, they'd come to blows before they got out. She forced herself to meet his gaze, Tori's image in her mind giving her strength. "Beck… I'm in love with Tori. And I don't want you to be with her because _I_ want to be with her."

The weight of her words hit her like a freight train, but inside of searing pain she felt nothing but joy. The most beautiful, genuine, happy smile lit up her whole face, the fiercest of blushes turning her porcelain cheekbones to roses. Her eyes dropped to the floor when Beck brushed past her, silent and hard and furious. She heard the door slam, but even as the sound grated against her ear drums her smile continued to grow.

Snatching her bag off the floor, she set out to find Tori… the girl she was in love with. And with that thought in mind, for the first time in her life, Jade West giggled in glee.

* * *

**Hello again. I apologize for the time between chapters but I actually just moved into college so it's been pretty hectic. Plus, I wanted to get a chapter in on another story I'm working on; the poor thing's been feelings neglected.**

**Now I hate to nag, but out of the 1000 people that read the last chapter, only 10 reviewed. I mean, I'm amazed by the fact that 1000 people read the last chapter, but people please tell me why you like this story, especially what you may not like about it. I want to improve as a writer and I can't really do that if only 10 (wonderful) people give me feedback.  
**

**So please, read and review and I promise the next chapter will come a lot faster.  
**

**Love, Celery Sticks :D  
**


	8. Chapter 8

"Vega!"

Tori, who had been nervously pacing back and forth in front of the girl's bathroom since Beck had dragged Jade off, turned and breathed a sigh of relief. Jade was striding towards her confidently, a brilliant smile lighting up her face. A smile of equal caliber spread across Tori's, and the half-Latina ceased her pacing.

_My God, she looks so happy… why can't she smile like that every day? She's so beautiful…_

That last thought didn't quite register completely; it snuck its way in under the overwhelming wave of pride and affection that rose up within her at the sight of Jade looking so happy and care-free.

_I'd give anything to know what just happened… ugh, why didn't I follow them? There's nothing wrong with eavesdropping; people do it all the time! Sure, it may be unethical, but… okay, so I'd probably feel horrible if I'd eavesdropped. Jade pretty much told me she didn't want me to follow so if I had… I'd feel awful, dirty even. But she better tell me what happened or I'm gonna-_

She stopped her inner monologue when she realized that Jade was almost within reach, but oddly enough her stride hadn't slowed. She was charging at Tori, the smile on her face still glowing… and getting brighter as she approached. Tori's brow knit together in confusion, and the tiniest flicker of fear rose up in her chest.

"Jade, what's-"

Jade sprang at her, arms wrapping fiercely around Tori's shoulders. The force of her lunge almost sent Tori toppling, but with a grunt she was able to swing the pair of them around and regain her balance, her arms firmly locked around the other girl's waist. Jade's face was buried in her hair, her alabaster cheek pressing against the sensitive flesh of Tori's neck. Heat crept up into copper cheeks as Tori realized how close they were, her hormones flaring to life and setting every part of her body that was in contact with Jade's (which was _every_ part, considering they were pressed flush against each other) on fire.

Tori opened her mouth to speak, but Jade's grip tightened and nearly choked her, her breath coming out in a strangled gasp. They stayed liked that for a moment more before Jade pulled away, though she left her hands tight on Tori's shoulders, keeping her in place. Tori's chest heaved as air returned to her lungs and Jade's eyes twinkled with laughter.

Tori stared down at her incredulously. "What was that for?"

"Are you hungry?" Tori's eyes narrowed, both because she was irritated that she'd been ignored and because the sheer freakishness of the situation called for it. Jade had been dragged away by her ex-boyfriend no more than five minutes ago to be confronted by said ex-boyfriend about some mystery issue… and instead of coming back neither a wrathful terror nor a sobbing mess, she'd returned with a dazzling smile on her face. Then, she'd crushed Tori in what was probably the fiercest (and most oddly stirring) hug the half-Latina had ever received… and now was asking if she was _hungry?_

"Uh…" Jade grinned up at her, one hand dragging down the side of her arm to lock around her wrist as a familiar mischievous light began to shine in those bright, mint green eyes.

"You look hungry. Let's go somewhere." Without waiting for a confirmation, Jade dragged Tori away, off towards the parking lot. The thought that maybe she should stop and ask about what happened did come up, but Tori pushed it away. When Jade was ready to tell her, she would.

How she knew that, Tori had no idea. But she was sure of it. Besides… it wasn't like she was going to pass up an opportunity to spend time with Jade; this was what she'd always wanted, since she'd first come to Hollywood Arts.

Despite everything Jade had said and done to her, Tori still felt this need, this overwhelming urge, to be friends with her. To mean something to her. For some reason, Tori couldn't help but feel that she needed to be by Jade's side... to be there for her. Maybe it was that night when Jade had come to her house crying; seeing her like that had made Tori forget all about the vicious exterior, and even though she hadn't been as comfortable around the other girl then as she was now, Tori's heart had not let her rest until Jade was happy again.

And she'd seen that vulnerability again when she'd helped Jade produce her play. When she'd found out how much her father's opinion meant to her, Tori had done everything in her power to make sure that Jade's play went off without a hitch so that the misunderstood performer could win her father's praise. Why she'd tried so hard was a mystery… it was just some kind of uncontrollable instinct that Tori had no choice but to follow.

_Come to think of it… I've seen her at her weakest moments too many times to count. Why though? She's hated my guts since I first got here… or acted like it at least. Why does she keep coming to me? Wait… does this mean that… maybe, she trusts me? Is that how I know she'll tell me later, when she's ready? Is that why she always seems so vulnerable when she's with me? When she's with me, she doesn't have to be 'Jade West'… she can just be Jade. Maybe she's realized that. _

Tori couldn't keep a smile from spreading across her face as she looked down at the pale hand encircling her wrist. She shook her head, chuckling quietly so as to keep Jade from hearing.

_Took her long enough._

Before long they were out in the parking lot and Tori was pretty much thrown into the passenger seat of Jade's car before Jade jogged around to the other side and yanked the door open. She threw her purse into Tori's lap and plopped down into the driver's seat, jamming the key into the ignition before turning to Tori with a grin. "So. Where do you wanna go?"

Tori stared, flabbergasted. Silence filled the car. When Jade raised her eyebrows expectantly, words came tumbling from between her lips. "Uh… I don't, uh… where do _you _wanna go?"

Jade's grin widened. "You want me to decide?" Tori nodded, slowly, her brain still trying to wrap itself around the bizarreness of her situation. "Alright. I know the perfect place." Jade gazed happily at her for a moment more before putting the car in gear and speeding out of the parking lot. Tori was ready for it this time, and had already buckled her seat belt. Still, she had to grip the arm rest to keep herself steady.

She saw Jade frown out of the corner of her eye… well, in reality it was more of an adorable pout, but Tori could never really imagine Jade pouting adorably so she just stuck with the label of frowning. Her ears perked to catch Jade's faint words. "Boo. I was hoping you'd shriek again. It was so cute the first time!"

"My shrieking is cute?"

The pulled up at a red light, and Jade slowly turned her gaze to Tori's. Green eyes intense, Tori felt fire pooling in her cheeks, and when Jade smiled that tender, vulnerable smile it quickly spread to her ears.

"Everything about you is cute."

Tori's eyes went wide, her heart melting in her chest and dripping down into the pit of her stomach, filling it with a simmering heat different from the warmth lighting up her face. She swallowed, trying to tear her gaze away but finding herself frozen, staring into those deep, emerald eyes… pulling her in…

But then the light turned green, and the spell was broken.

The rest of the car ride passed in silence, though the air was thick with… something. Something that was making Tori very anxious and twitchy. When they pulled into a seemingly random parking lot and came to a stop, Tori was quick to exit the car, taking both girls' purses with her. While she waited for Jade to get out of the car she looked around, finding only a nondescript white building with minimal decoration sitting alone on the other side of the lot. There were a few cars scattered here and there, but not enough to suggest they were going to a particularly good restaurant, or even a restaurant period.

She felt Jade at her side. She didn't bother turning her head.

"Where have you taken me?" Jade laughed and retrieved her bag from Tori's care, fingers brushing gently over tan skin as they pulled away.

"My favorite place." Jade's free hand found her wrist and Tori found herself being dragged away. Again.

She felt conflicted.

_This is her favorite place… I should fell honored that she's taking me here! But… I'm scared. I admit it: I'm scared. It's a scary white building in the middle of nowhere with no one around... and it doesn't even look like a restaurant! Just look at it! There's no sign, no welcome mat, no people! Nothing! I mean, there's graffiti on that one wall there… and an open door on that side, but-_

And Jade was dragging her through that open door, running her hand along that graffiti... and before Tori had a chance to protest, they were inside.

The inside didn't make Tori feel any more comfortable, it was dark and undecorated and empty (save for that one door there with the peephole), but when she looked suspiciously at Jade the other girl just smiled and dragged her along. She stopped at the door, knocked, and Tori jumped at the sound of movement coming from the other side. There was a minute of shuffling and quiet, mumbled murmuring, before the door was unlocked and an elderly Asian man appeared. He smiled at Jade, "Good day, Miss West," and flashed Tori a friendly smile before stepping aside to let them in.

Jade pulled her along, Tori waving stupidly at the old man as she stepped into a completely different world.

There were bright, golden lights and oriental decoration everywhere: paintings of dancing pandas, statues of solitary dragons, and scrolls decorated with samurai warriors and symbols telling of their heroic escapades. Everywhere, there were stove-top tables and people seated around them, laughing and enjoying the show. Chefs with flashing knives cooked their meals right before their eyes with an amazing display of knife-work, skill, and humor. Bursts of flame flew up everywhere, the crescendo of voices rising and falling with each one. Food flew into waiting mouths and disappeared into coat pockets with a flick of a chef's wrist.

Jade had taken her to a hibachi-style restaurant.

Tori's jaw dropped in shock, her eyes lighting up in awe as she did a 360, trying to take everything in.

When she turned back to Jade, she saw the ebony-haired girl smiling tenderly at her, eyes bright. Tori sent a tentative smile back, and Jade tugged at her wrist again. The half-Latina went willingly, following Jade to a smaller table towards the back. A small Asian woman brought them chopsticks and silverware both, as well as menus. She gave them a moment before asking politely what they wanted to drink, nodding at their requests then scurrying away to tend to her other tables.

Tori turned to Jade with a curious grin. "This is your favorite restaurant?"

Jade put an elbow on the table, resting her head in the curve of her open palm. "Why surprised? I actually thought you might've guessed it but," here she sighed dramatically, "I guess not."

Tori frowned. "Why would I have guessed it?"

"Guess."

Tori groaned, but Jade's teasing smile offered no hints, so she started thinking. Soon enough (sooner than she'd expected, actually), the answer jumped into her head. "You like watching your food die right in front of you? Because the knives are just like big scissors?"

Jade raised her brows, impressed. "Correct! See, now was that so hard?"

Tori rolled her eyes but refused to say anything, for the elderly Asian woman had returned with their drinks. It'd have been rude to offer up a sarcastic reply in her presence. When she asked what the two girls would like this evening, Jade beat her to it and ordered for them. "Shrimp for me, chicken for the brunette here."

Tori waited for the woman to leave, taking the menu that Tori hadn't even had a chance to read with her, before flashing Jade an accusatory glare. "You used to be a brunette too, you know. Before you dyed your hair to match your soul."

Jade laughed, straightening back up and relaxing into her chair. "Not bad, Vega! I think I might be rubbing off on you! The Tori I met a few months ago would never have been able to come up with such a good comeback!"

Tori grinned proudly, taking a sip from her soda before tearing open the little white envelope that held her chopsticks. Playing with them absentmindedly, Tori began to think.

_Okay… so either Jade's really starting to open up to me… or this break up has really messed her up. Why's she being so nice to me? Why are we out at her favorite restaurant (which by the way looks like an abandoned building in an abandoned lot) eating a 4:00 dinner? Why did she call me… cute? And… why did I like it? _

She felt something hard poke her cheek and turned her head, only to find herself face-to-face with Jade's chopsticks. She shrieked, jumping back in her seat as Jade grinned, pulling away and settling back into her seat. "There we go."

"What was that for?!"

"_That_ is called killing two birds with one stone, Vega. You were spacing out on me, plus I didn't get to hear you shriek like a five year-old today. So, with that little trick not only did I draw your attention back to me, which never should have wandered in the first place, but I got to satisfy my needs."

"Jade…" Tori gnawed at her bottom lip, turning away for a moment to gather her courage. Jade gazed at her curiously, chopsticks still clutched in one hand. "Jade… why are you doing this?"

"Enjoying myself?"

"Why are you being so nice to me? Why am I all of a sudden your… c-confidant or whatever it is, and why are we getting dinner together? I mean, Sikowitz isn't forcing you this time, so why are we here?"

Jade's eyes grew serious, and the chopsticks in her hand were placed on the table. "First of all… you're not a man, so it's confidante. Second… Tori…" Jade sighed and put her head in her hands. "It's complicated. Beck, he… he made me realize what an idiot I've been when it comes to… y-you." Tori cocked a brow. Had Jade faltered on that last bit? "And now, I guess… I just want to… well, I want-"

"_Konbanwa_!"

The two girls jumped in their seats, though Tori noted that Jade looked relieved at the arrival of their chef. She told herself that she'd ask Jade about it again later, after the meal. For now though, her stomach was rumbling, and she had to admit… she did love hibachi.

* * *

**Howdy folks; enjoying yourselves? The next chapter's gonna be a big one... trust me ;)**

**For now though... you'll have to enjoy this one!**

**(I'm evil, aren't I?)  
**


	9. Chapter 9

After their chef had left with a Japanese exclamation of gratitude that neither girl had understood, Jade realized that this was technically her second date with Tori. True, the first date at Nozu hadn't really gone down like a date at all until those idiot boys had shown up, but still. It counted. Especially since Jade had made that first small step to confessing when she'd begrudgingly (nervously) admitted that Tori was pretty.

And then Tori had called her pretty… and the hormonal charge that had been building up inside of her had suddenly spiked, jumping like a deer at the slightest twitch in the bracken. Only God-like self-control had kept her from doing something… inappropriate.

Jade wasn't so sure she'd be able to do it twice, though.

Green eyes kept straying from their owner's plate to the beautiful, smiling girl sitting beside her, taking in every detail as they traveled up and down and around the half-Latina's profile, intensifying when that pink mouth opened to take a bite of chicken. The thought that maybe she shouldn't stare _did _cross her mind, but why stare at a plate of food when all you really need to do is eat it? And why stare at the ugly old man sitting at that other table when you could stare at Tori Vega?

Jade kept that mentality even when Tori realized she was staring and turned to give her a curious, perked-eyebrow look. "What?"

_Yes Jade, what? What are you doing staring at her like an idiot when you should be telling her how you really feel? What are you doing dancing around her like you're in the chorus when you should be center-stage, starring in the show with her? _

_And what is it with you and your theater obsession? Even in your head that's all you can think about! _

Lips tugging down into a frown, Jade shoved her common sense back into its little box in the dusty little corner of her brain's left hemisphere. Tori was still staring at her, nervously now, and for some reason the little light that sparkled in them was different. There was a strange awareness, an intense focus that those brown eyes had never directed at her before, and something else…

Jade's heart stirred and her back straightened as her own eyes began to widen, millimeter by millimeter. This new, curious sparkle in Tori's eyes… was it really what she thought it was? She'd seen that kind of look before, admittedly amplified, in idiot girls when they were talking to boys they liked, or even just boys that were cute. It was a look she'd probably given Beck when he'd first shown interest in her, ages ago.

Shyness, anticipation, and excitement, all rolled into one incredibly adorable (and arousing) look that made Jade's frown turn into an awestruck slack jaw.

_Oh my god… do I actually have a chance? Is she really looking at me that way? Please don't let this be my imagination…_

She cleared her throat and searched for something to say, playing it cool by leaning back in her chair and resting her elbows along the back of it in a pose she'd seen Beck do nearly a thousand times.

"I was just wondering…" _thinkofsomethingthinkofsomet hingthinkofsomething _"…why do you, I mean… why have you put up with me for so long?"

Tori's eyes narrowed in confusion and the nervous little look that had set Jade's blood simmering fleed behind an opaque cloud of serious consideration. It was still there though, lingering. Jade wondered why she'd asked something so serious and where it'd come from, but now that she'd asked it she really wanted to know. What _had_ made Tori so resilient when it came to building their 'friendship'? Why, even after Jade had tried so hard to push her away, had she kept coming back?

By the look of Tori's frown and scrunched-up brow, she didn't quite know the reason herself. "I don't know… I guess I just- ugh, do we have to get so serious when I'm trying to eat good food? This place might be really shady on the outside, but they make the best rice like, ever! I gotta admit, you have really good taste, Jade. How exactly you knew where this place was, and how you knew it was an actual restaurant I'll never know and I'm not sure I want to, but-"

"Are you trying to change the subject, Vega?"

Tori flinched at the harsh tone and she almost felt bad, but immediately looked guilty under Jade's piercing glare. The bad feeling went away.

Tori sighed, dropping her chopsticks on the plate and slouching back into her seat. "I'm sorry, I just… I don't know! Every time you said something nasty or even went so far as to physically cause me pain, which really, now that I'm thinking about it, happened a lot… I just never felt like it really was meant to hurt me. I just felt like that was who you were. But, that doesn't really explain why I wanted to be close to you, does it? I mean, why would I want to be friends with someone like that? I'll admit… I almost did give up."

Jade's heart stopped.

"…but then you broke up with Beck, and you came to me. I saw you cry. I saw you completely and utterly miserable, and you didn't say one truly nasty thing to me. After that, I guess I just kinda knew… that there was something else. Something inside of you that loved and hurt and suddenly… the taunts didn't mean anything. It might sound cliché, but I knew there was a heart in there somewhere, and once I knew that… I just never felt like giving up was an option."

Utter silence.

Tori was waiting for some kind of response, she knew that, but Jade was utterly speechless. She'd need at least a solid sixty seconds before any kind of unintelligent response would come tumbling from between her lips.

She didn't get that though, because the sound of Katy Perry came wandering out of Tori's purse and with obvious relief the half-Latina broke the silence with the sound of rummaging. Once the little singing object was found, Tori straightened back up in her seat and Jade watched her, still in the throes of shock. Green eyes tracked every move of delicate fingers, and Jade guessed that Tori had gotten a text from someone.

And when she saw Tori's eyes go wide, she felt a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't going to be good. Trying but failing to swallow down a lump of fear and nausea that had manifested in her throat, Jade stammered, "Who is it?"

Tori's gaze crept up to meet hers, terror and worry and anxiety replacing the curious new light that Jade immediately missed. "I-it's… Beck."

Jade grit her teeth, heart hammering in her chest as her face began to heat up, angry blood thundering in her ears. Pins and needles began to creep around the rims of her eyes, and even though she already had an idea of what Tori had just read, she asked "What did he say?"

Tori looked at her sadly, unsure if she should say it or not, but Jade kept her gaze steady. After opening and closing her mouth several times (a fish out of water, desperately trying to find an escape route) Tori finally relented. "He wants to know what I'm doing Friday night."

Nostrils flaring, Jade inhaled sharply and shot up in her chair, grabbing her purse and digging through it until she found her wallet. Throwing money down on the table, she stormed away, tears already gathering and threatening to spill; whether they were born from anger, hurt… or both, was anyone's guess.

_I can't believe this… she finally confesses that she cares and I actually get a glimmer of hope in what I thought was a hopeless endeavor, and he has to just come in and- but wait… he cares about her too. He's a good guy… I probably really hurt him today and I don't really have a right to be angry considering I'm doing the same thing he's doing…_

_But if he gets involved I won't have a chance!_

Shouldering past Mr. Wong, who was looking at her with pity in his wrinkled, watery old eyes, she threw the door open and practically ran through the parlor and out into the fresh air. She slumped against the wall, sliding down past the graffiti and dropping to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and curled into a ball, fighting the tears.

_What am I supposed to do? Drop out and just leave the two of them to be happy together? Should I let them be the new 'it' couple and just try and manage a friendship? Love or no love, I need Tori in my life. Or do I hurt Beck, my best friend, and try to dig down into that soft heart of hers and find whatever was giving me that look in the restaurant? God, I want to. But I can't control Beck, and I can't control her. I can't keep them apart, and the only reason Tori looked so upset was because I was right there when he texted her. I'm sure if she'd been home she would've jumped for joy, or at least been excited. She knows we're over each other; she might've felt awkward about it but that wouldn't have stopped her._

The first tear came down with the realization that Jade had in fact, as she'd feared, run away at the first sign of trouble. All Beck had done was send the half-Latina a simple text message, and not even a very romantic one at that. Still she'd run, tail between her legs, and because of that Tori was probably in there now, texting him back.

"I'm such a coward…"

"Yeah, you are."

Jade's head snapped up, eyes red, mouth dropping open in surprise. Tori was standing over her, concern and care shining in those deep brown eyes. "Vega?"

The half-Latina didn't say a word, just dropped down next to her, close enough so that their shoulders were touching. Jade instinctively leaned into the warmth projected by the tan skin and gentle smile, so that their sides were almost flush against each other. "It's okay, though. We can't be brave all the time. Sometimes thing just suck."

"Sometimes things just suck…" Jade chuckled, and after a moment she let her head drop down, tentatively resting it on Tori's shoulder. "Wise words from Tori Vega." When she felt Tori's arm come up and wrap around her shoulders protectively Jade let her full weight drop down onto Tori's shoulder and sighed contentedly.

It was scary how quickly the other girl's presence could calm her.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Jade relishing every moment she spent with her head resting on Tori's shoulder, her side pressed firmly against the half-Latina's. This was what she wanted, this and so much more… but what if Tori didn't feel the same? True, that look had sparked Jade's curiosity, made her confident that not _all_ was lost, but still.

She felt Tori's pocket vibrate. The other girl must have put her phone on silent. She didn't go to grab it though, and Jade's eyes tried to roll back to look up at Tori but physical limitations left her staring up at the sky. "You should get that. It might be Beck again. He wants to go out with you, you know."

_Why the hell did I tell her that? Actually… I have to admit, that felt pretty good, getting that off my chest. I wonder…_

_Should I?_

As she considered it, she sensed Tori frowning. "Jade… I don't, I mean… I can't! He was your-"

"He was my boyfriend. Now, he's my _ex_-boyfriend. And I'm his ex-girlfriend. We're not tied to each other anymore, not like that. He can date whoever he wants, and I can date whoever I want." She pulled away so she could look Tori in the eye, strength building up inside her heart. "So if you want to date him, go ahead. But before you do… there's something I have to tell you."

Tori returned her gaze, serious and yet curious. "Okay."

When Tori looked expectant, Jade bit her lip and looked away for a moment. She missed Tori's eyes flitting downwards to stare, then darting back up when Jade's eyes came back to meet hers. "Not here." Instinctively, her hand reached out and encircled the other girl's wrist. She pulled gently, bringing Tori up with her as she stood, flashing a shy smile before leading her to the solitary balck car that Jade considered her second home.

Opening the passenger side door, Jade waved away Tori's 'Thank you' and headed around to the driver's side. Getting in, Jade breathed out slowly, calming herself, before driving out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?"

"Don't worry about it."

The car was silent, the radio left off. It wasn't a time for music; the last thing she needed was some stupid song like 'Call Me Maybe,' to come blaring over the radio and ruin the moment. Despite the tense silence and the feeling of Tori staring at her with concern, Jade didn't allow herself to get scared; every time she considered turning back or backing down, she just remembered the warmth of the other girl's embrace, the tenderness of that smile. And that look… that curious, excited little look that spoke volumes but at the same time left her with more questions than answers.

What she was about to do was bold, even for her, and she wasn't sure it was going to pay off.

But she needed to try. She had to see this through. Otherwise, she might end up losing. She'd run away once today, and she didn't intend on doing it again.

Jade pulled into her driveway with a grave expression on her face, the sight of her empty house depressing her, as it always did.

"Jade, where are we?"

"My house."

"It's beautiful…"

Jade snorted. "That's only because you've never been inside. Now come on, this isn't where I wanted to take you." She ignored the confusion on Tori's face and got out of the car, locking it once Tori had finally stumbled out, her gaze still on the large, Victorian-style home that stood before her. Taking the other girl's hand, she led her around to the backyard, where her greenhouse waited.

When they stood before the glass door, Jade held it open and ushered Tori inside, smiling at the look of awe that lit up her face as she stepped through the threshold.

Despite her rather abrasive, cruel personality, Jade loved flowers. Adored them, really. They were beautiful things, and the fact that their beauty only lasted for so long made them that much more special. No two flowers were alike, just like people. Each one was unique, and each one could bring you happiness.

Roses were her favorite, because they were the most beautiful, and the most fragile. They had thorns, so you had to be careful when handling them, but when you finally got your hands on one you'd find that all the pain you may have suffered was worth it.

Letting the door fall shut behind her, Jade took a few careful steps in, letting her gaze pass over each of her bright, colorful charges. The smile grew on her face when she saw Tori kneeling down in front of her stargazer lilies, fingers gently brushing against the petals. "Bet you weren't expecting this from me, huh Vega?"

"No… not at all! I distinctly remember you cutting up my mother's flowers not too long ago… I thought you hated them."

Jade chuckled at the memory. "You ever hear people say the only kids they like are their own? That's how I am." Tori laughed and Jade found moved closer, walking until she was right behind the half-Latina. "Do you want to see my favorites?" Tori nodded enthusiastically and held out her wrist expectantly, but this time Jade didn't take it. Her own hands were clenched behind her back, the anxiety making itself known.

She crossed to the other side of the greenhouse, where she kept her roses. She had red, yellow, even pink… but she moved on past those and stopped in front of the white ones.

Tori stepped up beside her, and Jade could immediately tell that Tori wanted to get a closer look. She nodded down at them and whispered a gentle 'Go ahead' even as her heart began to beat with all the power of a symphony orchestra. Tori kneeled down, tentatively touching the petals of the white rose closest to her, as gently as if she was handling a child.

Jade waited for her to realize.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Wait… I've seen these somewhere before." Jade remained silent. "Jade, I- did you… on my birthday, when I found that rose in my locker, was that…" Tori stood, eyes wide with shock. "…was that you?"

Jade stared at the floor, suddenly afraid. Her nails were digging into her palms, probably creating new wounds that she'd have to tend to later. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out, so as her eyes slid shut she settled for nodding.

"So… wait, what does this-"

"Cat was right when she said you had a secret admirer."

Silence. Jade's eyes crept slowly back up to Tori's face. The beautiful young singer was staring at her, mouth hanging open in shock, eyes alight with a million different emotions. Somewhere in there was the look that had given Jade the strength to make this confession, and seeing it again made her step close, hands coming up to rest on the other girl's shoulders.

"Remember when I told you, that day at your place, that maybe I'd fallen in love with someone else?" Tori nodded, a simple flexing of the neck; there was no change in her face. Jade went on, "Tori, I've had feelings for you for… a long time. I tried to keep them away, tried to keep _you _away, but it just didn't work. I-I don't know if there's even a chance of, well, anything coming of it but… I wanted to try. I know that Beck has feelings for you, and I don't know what deity upstairs thought it'd be funny to make us fall in love with the same person, but… I wanted you to know that-"

"Jade, stop." She did, eyes going wide as Tori's eyes grew serious. "I knew there was something weird going on. I thought it was weird that you were over him so quickly. Look, I know that you just broke up with Beck and you're probably just confused but that doesn't mean you can just-"

What was she hearing? "Tori, I'm not making this up! I really am in love with you!"

"Alright Jade, I think I should leave. Call me when you're feeling better and I'll-"

"_No!" _Doing the only thing she could think of that would help Tori understand, Jade lunged forward and captured the other girl's lips. Trying to convey every ounce of passion and adoration she felt for the beautiful girl standing before her, Jade ignored the strangled gasp that escaped from Tori's mouth. The feel of the other girl's lips on hers set her whole body on fire, and her arms grew minds of their own and locked together at the back of Tori's neck.

Jade was pleasantly surprised to find that Tori was slightly taller than she was.

When she felt Tori's hands on her waist her hopes flew higher than the stars, only to come crashing back down when she was pushed away. Stumbling slightly, Jade had to take a step back before her wild-eyed stare shot back up to meet Tori's. The other girl was panting, and the hints of a blush coloring those lovely cheekbones had Jade grinning internally, but she wasn't in the clear yet.

"That wasn't a stage kiss… was it?"

Jade shook her head, thankful that at least Tori understood this was real and not some kind of misplaced emotional overload.

Tori looked lost; Jade felt bad about springing this all on her without much preparation, but it needed to be done. Slow and steady may win the race, but this wasn't a race. This was love, and teenaged love at that. Far more complicated.

"Jade, I… I can't give you an a-answer right now. I need to think about things. I can't just; I mean… this is…"

"…not what you were expecting?" Tori nodded slowly, eyes creeping up to meet hers before darting away again. Jade's face fell. There would be no fairy tale ending here. Any kind of relationship would be Tori's decision just as much as it was hers, and clearly this had been the last thing Tori had expected. This would be as far as they got tonight. "I get it. Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No, that's alright. I can walk, it's not far."

"Tori, just let me-"

"I said I'll walk." Tori's tone forced her into silence, and she stood by as Tori brushed past her. She looked down at her roses, reaching out and letting her fingers dance across the petals, just as Tori's had done before.

A single tear fell onto a white petal… but she didn't start sobbing until she heard the door slam shut.

* * *

**I'm back! Sorry folks, we had some technical issues on this end... aka my computer crashed and I was very upset. Now I'm back, and better than ever! And updates will come just as quickly as they did before, maybe even quicker! **

**Hope you enjoy the chapter, and look forward to the next one!  
**

**Also, I apologize to the people I told that this chapter would be coming last night. See, I was sitting in my dorm room, all ready to sit down and edit, when my neighbors come in dressed for a party and offer me a shot glass. And tell me there's a party ten minutes away. And with me not having classes on Friday, well... drinks have to be drunk, and boys gotta be danced with. You know how it is.  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Beck couldn't help but grin as he walked into school that day. It was a lovely 79 degrees outside, the sky was blue, his bedhead was perfectly messy, and Tori had agreed to go out with him on Friday night. This was great day.

Yesterday he'd been so worried she'd say no, or something like 'Jade's my friend I can't I'm sorry' and he'd spent the seven minutes it took for her to reply pacing back and forth in his trailer. He really liked Tori; he loved her smile, her personality, her voice… and let's be real. Tori had a great figure. In retrospect, maybe he shouldn't have asked her out so soon after the break-up, but Jade had made it very clear that they were over.

Thinking of Jade made his grin falter.

He'd never been so angry with her than he had been yesterday. Looking back, it scared him, how angry he had been. Even so, why she thought she had a right to interfere in what could be a great, long-lasting relationship was completely beyond him, and he'd been putting up with her attitude for years! He thought he'd seen it all! Hell, he'd seen her set a kid's set on fire just because he'd insulted her singing! But what she'd done yesterday had topped that, easily. Going so far as to make up some crap about _liking_ her… liking her _that_ way… it was just too much. He had been so pissed off. If he hadn't have stormed out of there when he did, he could have very well done something he'd regret for the rest of his life.

But he had left, left Jade behind in that dark, empty closet and decided to move on with his life. He'd sent Tori a text, asking her to go out with him, and she'd said yes.

To bring his grin back up to full capacity, he retrieved his phone from his pocket. Scrolling through the texts, he stopped when he found Tori's reply. Reading it brought the grin back full force, even splitting it into a full-on smile.

'_I'd love to :) see you at school tomorrow?'_

He kept on smiling all the way to his locker, staring down at his phone as he went ahead and read through the entire conversation. Luckily, he didn't bump into anyone, plus he knew the walk to his locker by heart.

His first text had been simple; he'd been too nervous to write anything eloquent. _'Hey Tori, what're you doing Friday night?'_

'_Nothing that I know of. Why? What're you doing?'_

'_I dunno. I was wondering if maybe we could go out to a movie or dinner or something. That is, if you want to' _

Seven minutes. Seven horrible minutes while he'd waited for her reply, but it had been worth it. Today he'd ask her where she wanted to go, and on Friday he'd make sure they had the best first date ever, and Jade would just have to deal with it.

A voice made him look up from his phone. "Yo, Beck!"

"Sup, man?" It was André, heading straight for him with fear written across every feature. Beck cocked a brow, wondering why in the world such a big dude looked like a terrified two year old on a haunted hayride.

"Dude, what up with Jade? She's been practically growling at every person that comes within a five foot radius! What did you do?! Please don't tell me you decided, after all this time, to hook up with Alyssa Vaughn! Aw man, if you did, she's gonna kill us all!"

"Dude, relax." André was twitching fiercely, eyes darting around the hallway, keeping a lookout for the black cloud of terror that was an angry Jade West. Instead of being nervous or frightened though, Beck was only irritated. Even though André was probably just overreacting, Jade still had no right to be so angry. She'd said it herself: they were over. She'd told him that she didn't love him anymore. That should have been the end of it.

_But wait… I know Jade. She's only ever really angry when she's been hurt. Man… I mean, I feel awful but I can't just wait for her to be okay… she's never gonna be 'okay' and I have a life to live. She's gonna have to get over it. She has a right to be upset... but still...  
_

Sighing, Beck put a hand on André's shoulder to stop his incessant bouncing and calm him down. "Look man, I broke up with Jade. That's why she's so pissed. She's not gonna kill anyone though, so just relax and give her some space. She'll get over it."

Silence. André stared at him, slack-jawed and speechless. Patting his friend on the shoulder, Beck moved to dial in the combination on his locker and retrieve his books. Today was probably going to be a long day too, so he made sure to grab an energy drink from the back of his locker, where he kept a portable mini-fridge. It was a great investment, and one that he kept a secret. He didn't need everyone asking him to store their snacks in his locker; he barely had enough room for his Rockstars.

When he began to hear sputtering from behind him, he knew André was almost finished with his reboot, so he turned around and waited to hear what his friend had to say.

"So… wait… you broke up with her? Like, for real? You're not together anymore? No more arguing? No more shouting? No more awkward game nights with you two sitting on opposite sides of the table, glaring at each other like you're fighting a Cold War?"

Beck paused, taking that last metaphor in, impressed by André's historical knowledge and articulation. "Uh, yep."

André straed at him for a moment, before his face split into a joyful smile and he wrapped Beck in a hug, lifting him up in the air and shouting, "Thank you! Oh, thank you my brother!"

"Easy! Down, boy!" André set him back down on the ground, grinning like a psycho, eyes bright with joy at the idea of not sitting through another awkward game night, or being forced to sit through a shouting match. Beck shook his head, chuckling. "Listen, have you seen Tori?"

"Uh, she told me she was comin' in late this morning. Probably won't see her 'til lunch. Why?"

"Nothing big. Just gotta talk to her about something." _Why is she coming in late? Is she not feeling good? That would suck, our date's in two days! Please just let this be a coincidence. _"Did she say why she was gonna be late?"

"Something about not getting enough sleep last night. Told me she was thinking about a lot of things. Did she… know about the break-up? Is that why you look so worried?"

"Well…" Beck wondered if he should tell André the whole story. It didn't take him that long to decide. "I… kind of asked Tori out. She's the reason I broke up with Jade. She's just… being with her just makes my day that much brighter, you know? Not at all like being with Jade. We get along great, right? We make each other laugh, we're great friends, so who's to say we couldn't be a great couple? Jade told me herself that she stopped loving me a long time ago, so I'm moving on. And she should do the same."

Beck waited for a response, but André was just staring at him, critically. He was Tori's best friend, so there was a surge of protective energy coming off of him, as well as suspicion… but that was to be expected. The whole situation was extremely messed up, and André was dealing with the feelings of three of his closest friends. "You asked her out?" Beck nodded. "What'd she say?"

"She said yes. So I'm going for it. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. But if I don't try, I'll never know, right?"

"...Right. But Beck, I'm telling you… if you hurt her, I will have to hurt _you_. Tori's my best friend, and I'm not gonna lie; the fact that you just broke up with Jade has me a little bit suspicious. If you say you're over each other, that's fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on you, alright? Tor's had some rotten luck with guys so far, and I don't want her to get hurt again."

"I get it, don't worry. Tori's my friend too, you know?" _And she'll always be my friend, even if she can't be my girlfriend. That won't ever change. _"You wanna head to class?"

André smiled and nodded, shifting his backpack before starting off for Sikowitz's classroom. Beck followed along, wondering what could have possibly kept Tori up all last night. Had she been feeling guilty? Had she regretted saying yes? Or was she excited? He sure hoped it was the latter of the two. He wanted things to work out between them; he wanted a girlfriend that wasn't constantly snapping at him.

_And speaking of snapping…_

He saw Jade up ahead, striding from the opposite direction towards the door to the classroom. His hand clenched around the strap of his bag and he felt André go stiff beside him. He had to admit, she did look incredibly pissed; her posture was stiff, her jaw clenched, she practically radiated fury… but when he saw her eyes he knew that she was deeply hurt.

The bright green eyes that he'd fallen in love with so long ago were now rimmed with red, which to most people was a sign of demonic rage, but to him was a sign of pain and frustration. Jade had been crying, and Beck felt the guilt rising up in his throat.

But he kept on walking, and when Jade saw him he held her gaze, waiting to see what she would do. He was still angry with her, and when she scowled at him he frowned in response, eyes narrowing. Her eyes shifted to André, who actually jumped at the contact, but instead of snarling or insulting, she simply nodded stiffly before heading into the classroom, without a second glance at him.

"Jeez, man. You sure she's over you?"

Beck thought of what Jade had said to him in the closet the other day. _"I'm in love with Tori." _Could it have been true? Had that really just been Jade's crazy attempt at keeping the two of them apart for bitterness' sake? Or did she really actually care about Tori that way? If she did…

He shook his head, fiercely. There was no way. Glancing at André, he nodded once before heading inside. Jade was sitting in the front again, so he immediately went for the back. He felt eyes on him as he walked to his seat, but he ignored them. Let the people think what they want; he didn't owe them anything.

**x0x0x0x**

When the bell rang, signaling the end of morning classes, Beck couldn't wait to see Tori, so he was already out of his seat and jogging to his locker before the teacher had even properly dismissed them. He might get reprimanded for that later, but right now it didn't matter.

André had said that she'd definitely be here for lunch, so he waited at his locker for her arrival.

_Alright Beck, when she gets here just be casual. Don't mention Jade. Just be cool, be smooth, and be relaxed. If she was up all night thinking then she's probably tired, so just be chill. You can do that, can't you? And we're going where she wants to go, when she wants to go. You pick her up, you drive her home, and don't you dare go in for a kiss unless you're 200% sure she's sending the right signals. Even then you don't do anything big, just a peck. You're a gentleman, and you want her to see that._

He was so busy thinking that he almost missed her when she came in.

Seeing her made him smile, and even though you could tell she was tired she was still beautiful. "Tori!"

He walked up to meet her in the center of the lobby, and when she saw him she smiled back. "Hey Beck. Sorry I left you hanging all morning, I needed the sleep."

"Don't even worry about it, André told me you were feeling tired. So, you need to stop at your locker before we get lunch?" When she nodded he moved aside and gestured for her to go ahead. Her smile was accompanied by a cute little laugh that made his own smile widen. He walked her to her locker, waiting patiently while she retrieved the books she'd need for her afternoon classes. When she shut the door he was ready to go but she paused, looking up at him sadly and he felt his heart to hammer.

"Look, Beck…" _Please don't say you're canceling, please don't say you regret it _"I'm sorry about Jade. André told me she's been in an awful mood all day."

Beck looked at her curiously. "Why are you sorry? You're not the reason she's upset."

Tori looked crestfallen, and even though he wasn't sure why she felt responsible he drew her into a hug. "Tori, come on. This is not your fault. Jade's just being Jade. She'll be fine, and you have no reason to feel guilty. Come on," he let her go but kept her at arm's length, smiling down at her. "Let's go get lunch."

She grinned, albeit half-heartedly, but followed him anyway out to the Asphalt Café. He held the door open for her, always a gentleman, and headed for the Grub Truck. André and Cat were already on line, and they waved when they saw them. Tori waved back, happy to see them, and now that she was smiling normally again Beck could breathe. He'd been so worried she was going to take it all back.

He got a burrito and Tori got a turkey club, and once the food was ready the four of them headed off to find a table. Cat spotted one right away and practically sprinted for it, André hurrying after to make sure she didn't trip and hurt herself. That left Beck standing alone with Tori, who was giggling over the antics of her friends. Beck grinned down at her, entranced by her smile and the way her cheekbones managed to be so utterly perfect.

But all of a sudden Tori froze, smile dropping off her face, eyes going wide. Beck's brows knit together, concern growing as she continued to stand there, statuesque and almost… scared-looking.

"Tori? What's wrong?"

She didn't answer, just gulped and continued to stare, clutching at her lunch like it was the only real thing left in the world. He tried to follow her gaze, and when he found the cause of her strange behavior a most intense confusion bubbled up inside him.

From across the lot, Jade was seated alone at a table, lunch spread out before her but left untouched. While this alone might have made him feel guilty, something made guilt seem like a most unfounded reaction.

Jade was staring straight at Tori, eyes deep and sad and mournful. Even the scowl she'd worn all morning was gone, replaced by a soft, sad line that matched the misery in her gaze.

It was honestly the most forlorn he'd ever seen her, and it scared him. Why was she looking at Tori that way? Why was she ignoring him completely?

One pale hand came up in a tentative wave, eyes never leaving Tori's, and Tori became even stiffer, if that was possible. Beck saw one of Tori's hands twitch, coming away from the container as though she wanted to wave back but didn't have the strength to.

"Tori?" She jumped, looking up at him like she'd just been distracted from a horror movie, eyes wide and terrified. "You coming?"

"Uh… yeah, yeah… I just…" Her eyes left his, turning back to Jade, who now all of a sudden almost looked hopeful, her posture less slumped than before and her eyes slightly brighter. His eyes narrowed in a glare but Jade still wouldn't look at him, though he did feel the eyes of students staring at them. He looked back down at Tori when she suddenly slumped, all of the stiffness fleeing and leaving her slouching, eyes sliding shut and pink lips parting in a sigh. "I'm sorry. I can't do this. I… I-I'll talk to you later, okay? About Friday. I will. I just… I can't be here right now."

And before he had a chance to stop her, Tori was fleeing the Asphalt Café, sandwich still in hand. He tried calling out to her, but she ignored him and hurried away. He sighed, head rolling back to look at the sky, cursing the deities for putting him in this situation. When his head came back down, he looked back over at Jade. She had stood up, eyes following Tori as she fled the scene, and for a moment Beck almost thought she was going to try and follow.

He was getting ready to head her off when she suddenly slumped back down and put her head in her hands.

He remained standing for a moment more, before he sighed and headed over to join his friends.

* * *

**Sorry about the delay, folks. Bet a few of you thought I was just going to leave you hanging, right? Well never fear; I was just having some trouble with a Jori one-shot, entitled "Starring Role," should anyone feel like reading it ;)**

**I'm fairly happy with this chapter, and I'm sorry for all of you that want the Jori NOW, but you're just going to have to wait. Don't worry, all the waiting will make it that much sweeter in the end.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Tori fled the café, dropping her lunch into the trash on her way out. She'd lost her appetite. Seeing Jade had made her entire system freeze, pressure building as those deep, desperate eyes bored into hers from across the lot.

_God, Jade… what am I supposed to- I don't even… what am I, I mean… _

Groaning in frustration, she rushed through the doors and immediately headed for the janitor's closet… but then the memories of all the times she'd been alone in there with Jade came creeping into her head so she changed directions at the last second. Her feet carried her instead to the Black Box Theater, which was _Thank God _empty.

Dropping down into an empty seat, Tori immediately slumped over, head dropping down into waiting hands. A heavy sigh escaped her as her eyes screwed shut, tight as they would go.

How was she supposed to handle this? Jade had… Jade had confessed that she had "feelings" for her… but she'd just broken up with her boyfriend of two years _and _up until that break-up Jade had treated her like dirt. Tori was happy that Jade had finally started to open up to her, but all of this made her wonder... was it real? Beck had asked her out too, so soon after the break-up… and Jade had known he was going to!

_That's the weird part! Yesterday at the restaurant she'd asked me who it was that had texted, but it almost felt like she'd known it was going to be Beck even before I did! And then outside she told me that he wanted to go out with me..._

_So, should I be worried that this is all some kind of sick love game? Does Jade even care about me at all, or is just this her way of getting back at Beck? _

It almost seemed like a plausible thought, until Tori remembered those miserable green eyes, staring at her, begging her to come over and sit so they could just talk things out…

…and then her body bean to remember what had happened yesterday. Her heart began to pound and heat raced to her cheeks. Her lips began to tingle of their own accord, eyes opening to stare at the floor as the feel of Jade's lips pressing against hers, hungry and desperate and yet so incredibly soft came back to her. The feel of Jade's warmth pressed against her… the heat that had flared deep in the pit of her stomach at first contact…

"This wouldn't have to do anything with Jade, would it?"

Eyes snapping open, Tori looked over her shoulder and screamed, lunging forward to get away and ending up sprawled on the floor, pain shooting across her side. Groaning in pain, Tori decided against getting up and just let herself marinate there on the carpet. Shooting a glare up at the person that had put her in this predicament, she couldn't help but feel irrevocably irritated.

"Sinjin, don't do that!"

The lanky, creepy young man stared down at her with pity in his eyes, magnified by the spectacles that always sat a bit too high on his nose. His thin arms dangled down at his sides like always, unoccupied and awkward. Everything about him was awkward if you got right down to it, but the fact that he never seemed to be doing anything with himself unless he was working the stage lights or sound booth was just weird. Tori didn't think she'd ever even seen the boy make a phone call, or fool around with an iPod like any normal teenager would.

She held out a hand, hoping that Sinjin would take the hint and help her up, but he just continued to stare. If Tori hadn't been used to his weird behavior, she probably would have high-tailed it out of there, afraid for her life. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and sat up. She met his gaze after brushing some lint off of her shirt and saw that the pity in his eyes was mixed with some bizarre sort of chastising glare, like a mentor would give to a pupil. "What do you want, Sinjin?"

"What'd you do to Jade?"

Eyebrow rising, Tori fixed him with a curious (yet slightly nervous) stare. "Uh… what do you mean? _I _didn't do anything to J-Jade…" Angry at herself for not even having the courage to say her name without flinching, Tori crossed her arms and dropped her eyes down to glare at Sinjin's shoes.

"Well, this morning she was stalking the halls like the Plague incarnated, glaring at anyone and everyone that got too close like she could shoot gamma rays with her eyes and fry their brains like that dude in 'The Last House on the Left' when the other guy shoved his head in that microwave and-"

"Sinjin. Ew. Back to…" Again, her throat caught around Jade's name, "Back to the story."

"Right. Sorry. So, anyway… she was probably the angriest I've ever seen her, and well… I see a lot of Jade." Tori shivered, the memory of Sinjin web chatting them from within Jade's very house when she wasn't home jumping to mind. "But then at lunch when she saw you, she was looking at you like you'd just told her you were diagnosed with leukemia or something, and she desperately didn't want it to be true. You were all the way on other side of the café though, so I don't know how well that metaphor works, but you get the point. And now, after running away from said look, I find you here, cowering away in the Black Box Theater with your head in your hands. So… what'd you do?"

Tori's face had fallen with every word, and with a sigh she slumped back against the floor, itchy carpet brushing up against her skin. She threw an arm over her eyes, hiding away from the rest of the world. "I didn't do anything! I don't… I can't… ugh! Just go away, Sinjin! You're not helping!"

The strange young man cocked his head at her, eyeing her curiously. Somehow, Tori had the strangest feeling that he knew what was going on, if only in pieces and guesses. "Okay, but if you decide to talk to her… I think she said she was going to go to the ping pong room."

Moaning in response, Tori waited until the sound of retreating footsteps was ended by the bang of a door to roll over onto her stomach.

_The ping pong room… why would she go there? Guess maybe she didn't want to go to the janitor's closet either. Should I go talk to her? I haven't exactly… well, actually I did have plenty of time to think about things and Jade's just… her being a girl isn't really the problem, neither is the fact that she's a bit of a psycho. I actually think that part's kinda… cute. She's interesting, and I've already admitted to her face that she's gorgeous… even though those weren't the exact words I used._

When Tori realized she was biting her nails she stopped and stared down at her hands, the feel of Jade's holding her own at every possible turn ghosting over her skin, clutching her fiercely but never once hurting her .

_Maybe I should go talk to her… she deserves at least that much. If even Sinjin noticed that something was weird in the way she was acting today then this is serious. But how could Beck and Jade both possibly want me, of all people? I mean, what are the chances? _ _Beck could've gotten any girl he wanted, and Jade… I hate to say it, but Jade could probably do the same, girls and guys both. Plus, Jade's _hated_ me for so long… what changed? She told me she tried to keep me away, but…_

…_I need to talk to her. _

Tori's eyes narrowed in determination and she rose, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

_I don't need to give her an answer right now, because I'm not even sure what I would say… but I do need to talk to her. I need to see how she acts, I need to look her in the eye and see what she does… and I need to see how I'll feel when I do it. Those eyes have given me shivers before, but knowing what I know now, will I feel any different?_

She was fully prepared to find out, and with the image of Jade smiling that gentle, tender smile in her head she pounded through the doors…

…right into a busy hallway filled with the sound of the lunch bell ringing like mad. Lunch was over, and she'd missed her chance. Tori stamped her foot, beyond frustrated. "Now how am I going to talk to her?!"

"Talk to who?"

People really needed to stop sneaking up on her. True, this time she didn't end up falling out of a chair when she jumped, but still. All this surprise was bound to mess with her heart, or at least give her a sever case of angina. She turned around and was surprised to see Cat standing behind her, head cocked and eyes bright.

"Cat, please don't sneak up on me like that; one of these days I'm gonna have a heart attack."

Cat immediately looked concerned, eyes widening in fear and mouth popping open in a gasp. "I'm sorry! Please don't have a heart attack!" She lunged, wrapping Tori in a hug and apologizing continuously as Tori fought for air.

"Cat! Cat, stop! It's okay! I'm not gonna have a heart attack!" The crazy redhead pulled away, asking for a promise that Tori was telling the truth. Tori sighed, trying one last time to pry the other girl off of her before giving up. "Yes, Cat. I promise, I'm not really going to have a heart attack."

Cat smiled and pulled away. "So who did you need to talk to?"

"Well… I wanted to talk to Jade because-"

"Oh I wouldn't do that… Jade's really mad today. Like, really mad. I tried to sit with her at lunch 'cuz she was alone and no one should never sit alone unless they're Sinjin, but when I got to the table she told me to go away! And when I tried to sit down anyway 'cuz Jade usually always tells me to go away but doesn't really mean it she pulled out her scissors and pointed them at me! Then she said that if I didn't go away she'd stick them where the sun don't shine… so I went away."

"Jade _threatened_ you?! _You?! _You're like her best friend!"

Cat shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "Even a best friend can't fix everything."

Tori pursed her lips, mulling that over for a moment. Cat had this weird habit of speaking intelligently every now and then, but there was so much nonsense in between those moments that made each time it happened a near-magical experience.

Suddenly Tori was reminded of yesterday, when Jade had put her head on her shoulder and tried to keep back tears. Tori had told her something similar, 'Sometimes things just suck,' and it was ironic that now Cat was saying pretty much the same thing. She immediately felt awful and thought back to the hours she'd spent last night screaming at herself for being so insensitive. There were a number of different ways she could have handled Jade's confession, and instead of doing any she'd just high-tailed it out of there and left Jade alone with her feelings… and probably a near-overwhelming sense of hopelessness.

_I wouldn't have even come to school today if I was the one in her situation… _

And the fact that she had in fact skipped this morning's classes (all of the classes she had with Jade) came back to her, and she felt like a coward. She put a hand to her forehead, sighing miserably. "Look, Cat… do you have any idea why she's mad?"

"Nope. She's mad a lot, so I can never keep track."

"Do you want me to try and find out?"

Cat gasped, staring up at her in wonder as her hands came together just under her chin. "Could you? I like it when Jade's happy! She's pretty when she's happy! If you could make her happy, that'd be so great! But if she pulls her scissors out, well…" Big brown eyes grew sad as they dropped down to the floor. "It's not worth it if you're gonna get hurt. So be careful, okay?"

Tori's eyes grew fond as they stared down at the bubbly little redhead. Cat was so precious, like a little kid, really. If Jade was the negative in their group then Cat was the positive, always happy, even when she was upset about something. "Aww, don't worry. Jade doesn't scare me." Cat looked up at her skeptically, and Tori laughed as she pulled her in for a hug. "Okay, maybe she does, but seriously, don't worry! I'll find out why she's mad, and once I've made it all better I'll come and find you and I'll tell you all about it."

Cat hugged her back and soon enough she was skipping away down the hall, red hair bouncing all over the place. Tori watched her go, shaking her head even as a smile spread across her face.

The bell signaling the start of class rang and even though she was already late she hurried to her first class of the day, hoping that maybe if she was only a minute or so late her teacher would be more forgiving.

As she hurried, she thought about her situation.

_Okay… so Beck, who I like as a person and is obviously attractive, is attracted to me. He's over his girlfriend, who is also over him, and he wants to be something more than friends. He's sweet, funny, and charming, plus he obviously cares about me. We have fun when we're together, and I have to admit on the first day of school I was _very_ curious to know if he had a girlfriend. _

_And Jade, who I really haven't had a chance to get to know but for some reason always end up being in weird, intimate situations with and is also very attractive, told me that she has feelings for me. Obviously "more than friends" feelings, considering she kissed me yesterday. She's scary, cruel but, I'll admit, sexy when she wants to be, and even though her sense of humor is… not normal… being with her is nothing if not entertaining. Despite everything nasty thing we've said or done to each other… we're still with each other every day and now that I think about it I've probably spent more time with Jade than I have with Robbie… or even Cat. _

Her inner monologue had to be put on pause so she could duck into class and find a seat towards the back of the room, but once she was settled it immediately started back up again.

_So… who am I supposed to pick? Ugh, that sounds so awful! They're my friends, if I choose one I hurt the other! Oh my God, these are people, this is so unbelievably horrible; they're people, not puppies! Why I ever thought love triangles were romantic is beyond me… I'm stuck in the middle of one and it's the worst thing ever! It absolutely stinks! I can't… even just using the word 'choose' has me feeling like the worst person ever! How am I even supposed to know which one I want to be with? How do I even know if I could ever see Jade that way?_

_Because you were staring at her ass yesterday, Tori._

_Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where did that even… I don't… what? _

_And when you saw her today your heart nearly snapped in two._

_Where are these thoughts even coming from?! This is weird! My mind is being used against my will! _

…_alright. According to my head, or… whatever was just talking, I'm physically attracted to Jade. The heart thing can be explained by just having one in the first place. No one could see that look and not want to cry. Beck's hot too though…and how am I even supposed to compare them? One's a dude, one's a girl! They don't exactly have the same… assets._

…_I can't believe I just used the word assets. I feel so dirty._

* * *

**Hello, all! Told ya that this chapter wouldn't take nearly as long as the first one ;)**_  
_

**This chapter's a bit more light-hearted than the last one; It's been feeling a bit angsty lately so I thought I'd try and lighten things up with Tori's inner monologue. Tell me what you think!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

Jade didn't know what to do. It was _really_ pissing her off, too.

Confessing had taken nearly every ounce of willpower she'd had. So when Tori had just run away… admittedly, after the tears she found that she'd been incredibly pissed off. And she had a right to be! Running away from such a heartfelt confession… who does that?!

…that may have just been the rejection talking, though.

_Still, that hurt. And she wouldn't even let me drive her home! What, did she think I was going to ravage her in the car whether she wanted it or not?! Come on, I may be slightly psychotic, but I would never take advantage of anybody like that!_

_...so says the girl that practically shoved her tongue down her crushes throat. Without said crushes consent. While said crush thought the whole thing was some kind of sick joke. _

She sighed, hands clamping down on her scissors and moving yet another inch farther across the thick plastic of the garbage can. Luckily the janitor had gone out and gotten new ones, otherwise she would have had to take her frustrations out on something else. Something… softer.

She retracted her hand and cocked her head, admiring her handiwork. Instead of just shredding the poor thing as she'd done in the past, this time she was cutting the entire thing up into one giant spiral, like an apple skin. She was already halfway through, and even though her hand was killing her she wouldn't stop until she was done.

Maybe she'd have her feelings sorted out by then.

_Even if I am angry, it doesn't matter. I'm always angry. But I've never been this antsy before. I was so hoping I'd get to talk to her in class or something, or at least at lunch. When I saw her… with Beck, no less, I almost lost it. It was like I couldn't breathe… I… I wanted to talk to her, I… needed to be close to her… I just needed to feel her warmth. That would've calmed me down. We would have been able to sort this all out, or at least make a step in the right direction._

Tori hadn't come over though. Tori had seen her and her eyes had gone wide, spine snapping straight up and her mouth dropping open into a horrified, skittish, slack-jawed stare.

It was like someone had shoved her heart into a clamp and swung the lever as far as it would go, squeezing her until she felt like she was sure she was going to die…

Then Tori had run away _again,_ and Jade knew that her anger had only been a natural reaction, _her _natural reaction. The aching sorrow and desperation that forced her to rise from her seat and reach out after Tori's retreating figure was something entirely new to her. The jealousy she felt was new too; up until this point her 'jealousy' had only ever been her insecurity making itself known. When girls would flirt with Beck she wouldn't be angry because she was worried he might be falling in love with someone else, she'd be angry because she didn't trust him to be satisfied with just her.

When she sees Beck look at Tori with those dark, intense eyes not a fiber of her being worries that she isn't good enough. _Every _fiber worries that Tori might just not want her… despite everything she might do.

And it _terrifies _her.

_What am I going to do if she ends up with Beck? What am I going to do if I end up alone? I couldn't. I can't… I can't be stuck in that big house alone until I graduate… I-I can't. I need someone… and, right now, I think the only person that someone can be is Tori._

_She cares about me. She does! I know it! Even after everything, she cares! I don't know why, but she does! And… I care about her. When that jerk Ryder was two-timing her, I literally wanted to kill him. I wanted to go to his house, wake him up with some kind of horrible Dubstep mix that would make his ears bleed, then shove a pair of scissors in each eye. _

_Then raid his closet. I have to admit, the boy had nice taste, at least in jackets and boots. _

The pace of the scissors had started to slow as Jade began to realize how much Tori truly meant to her. The pressure she put on each handle eased down as her slicing nearly came to a halt, eyes distant as memories began to play across her vision. Their "date" at Nozu, Tori helping her with her play, Tori helping her win Beck back when she was still convinced she was in love with him…

And she realized that, even though she was pissed, after everything Tori had done for her the least Jade could do was give her time to think. Demanding an answer right away would just be downright selfish.

Sighing, Jade brought her hand away from the demolished garbage can to see what she'd created. The poor thing really did resemble an apple skin, the single cut extending around and around the outside until the entire thing looked like one curling piece of discarded plastic. She stared at it for a moment more before blinking and looking up, suddenly feeling as though she'd just woken up from some kind of deep, groggy slumber, like the one she'd normally get while writing an essay or a difficult screenplay. She shook her head then ran a hand through her hair, retrieving her phone from her bag to check the time.

_4:02… the hallway should be devoid of losers by now, so… guess it's time to leave. I'm not gonna see her today. She's not just gonna come barging in with an apology and a stuttering declaration of love like I'd hoped she would. Man. _

Moaning as the aching feel of pins and needles shot through her calves the moment she moved, Jade waited for the blood to rush back into her lower region before she uncrossed her legs and attempted to stand. She put her scissors away in her bag and cast one last look at the modern art piece she'd left lying on the floor before leaving the closet…

…and bumping right into her ex-boyfriend.

Surprised, Jade jerked away and almost let out a shriek. Almost. Instead, she held it down, constricted in her throat as her expression and mood instantly grew foul. Green met near-black in a deadlock stare, neither pair of narrowed eyes faltering.

Beck had his hands shoved deep down into his pockets, backpack hanging treacherously over one shoulder, threatening to spill. His eyes were narrowed down at her, suspicious and yet somehow cautious… guarded. That hurt, somewhere inside, but then Jade remembered that the person standing before her was the only thing keeping her from getting to Tori.

Crossing her arms and raising her chin defiantly, Jade spoke first. "What do you want, Beck?"

He didn't answer immediately; his eyes flicked upwards past her shoulder, presumably at the door to the closet. Jade frowned, ignoring his hint and moving past him as she rolled her eyes. She heard him call after her, but she spoke over him, "Whatever you need to say can be said in the parking lot. I'm sick of being here."

Heavy footsteps began to follow her just as they'd been doing for the past two years, and Jade breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted him to see what she'd been doing for the past hour; he knew her too well, he'd have known she was upset. Somehow the idea of him knowing how Tori affected her made her feel sick, especially since he was the cause of her current misery. If it wasn't for him, Tori could have been her girlfriend by now.

The word 'girlfriend' brought the smallest of grins to her face, which thankfully Beck couldn't see. Having Tori as a girlfriend, being Tori's girlfriend… was it possible? It had to be. Tori had to have felt _something_ for her…

"Jade, I wanna talk to you about Tori."

The smile faltered, falling back down into a frown as pale hands instinctively clenched. "What about her?"

Tense silence followed her through the doorway and out into the parking lot; she almost thought that he'd given up and walked away when he lengthened his stride and appeared in front of her. A physical wall of flesh and bone, he forced her to stop and meet his eyes once more. The guarded look was still there, and she realized that his own fists were just as clenched as hers.

"What you said… about liking her… was that, was that true?"

One ebony brow perked, piercing glinting in the sunlight. "Excuse me?"

"Well… I mean, you've _hated_ each other forever, and even though I know that it's all just an act I find it hard to believe that-"

"_Excuse me?_" Beck visibly flinched at her tone, eyes widening as her own narrowed to slits. "What the hell are you saying? Did you actually think that I would make something like that up? Wait a minute…" her mouth dropped down in shock, "Is that why you were so pissed? Did you… did you actually think this was some kind of _plot_?! Did you think that I was _jealous?!_ What the hell, Beck? I'm _in love_ with her, and if you didn't want her for yourself I wouldn't give a rat's ass about whatever ditz you decide to date! How could you even think-_ this_ is why I was always so pissed off when you were around other girls! You think you can get anyone you want, and that everyone wants to be with you! But it was fine when we were together, because I was 'all you needed' and those other girls were just S.O.L.!"

Beck had taken several steps back, the harshness of her words sapping his strength and there was obvious embarrassment showing in his eyes, in the way they danced away from the fire in hers. She couldn't believe what he was insinuating; was he really that thick? Could he have honestly thought that she was just trying to keep them apart because she wanted him to miserable?

Lip curling in a snarl, her hand flashed out and grabbed Beck by the collar of his shirt, dragging his face close to hers so that there was nowhere else to look but her brimstone stare. "Listen closely Beck, because I'm only going to say this once. I _do _want to keep you two apart, not because I'm so pathetic as to try and keep you single for misery's sake, but because Tori is _mine. _You hear me? _Mine._ I don't care what you do, I don't care what you try, but I swear to you, here and now, she'll be with me before I ever let you have her. She deserves better than you, you arrogant piece of trash."

Oh how she'd wanted to just leave it at that, just let him loose and let him scamper away with his tail between his legs, but of course he had to have the last word.

Scowling, he wrenched himself away, collar twisting as her fingers curled, trying to hang on, her nails scraping against the cotton. "Oh yeah? Well don't forget you dated this piece of trash for two years, you psychotic, twisted chick. If I'm not good enough for her, what makes you fit for the job?"

"I've grown up Beck, you haven't. I've realized how stupid I was being, how typically teenage-brand-selfish I was. I know now that I'm in love with her; she's not just a pretty face and a smile, she's everything I could ever want and, more importantly, everything I'll ever need. The only thing I regret is not realizing it sooner; then maybe I could have broken up with you first and saved us all a lot of heartbreak."

He glared at her half-heartedly, childishly, for another moment before storming away. Crossing her arms, she noted that this was both the second time he'd fled the scene and the second time she'd stood up for herself. This was the second time she'd defended her feelings for Tori, and the second time she'd been left feeling lighter than air after she had.

A pleased grin spread across her face as she sauntered over to her car, sliding in and immediately reaching for her CD case.

Plucking her favorite (and the only decent) Fall Out Boy album from its slot, she slid the disc into her radio system and turned the car on, still grinning. Stretching out to reach into the glove compartment, her fingers played with the buttons, finding the desired track as she retrieved her sunglasses. Leaning back and sliding them on with a content sigh, she settled into her seat, buckling her seat belt and wriggling in place until her butt was properly settled.

Her hands gripped the wheel, ready to go, but she waited for the first words of "Sugar, We're Going Down," to fill the car before she sped out of the parking lot and out into oncoming traffic.

Laughing uproariously at the sound of aggravated honking from whatever people she'd just cut off, Jade contemplated where to go.

_Screw going home, I'm in too good of a mood. You know what? Since I was so worried about whether or not I'd be able to back up my feelings, I should treat myself. I've been wanting a new piercing… the other day I saw a dude with a rook piercing that looked sick. _

Her grin stretched wider.

_Blackwork it is!_

Blackwork was her favorite place; it was a body piercing and tattoo shop that also sold jewelry and clothes, good clothes. She couldn't count the number of nights she'd spent just wandering the aisles or admiring the tattoo work. She knew every employee by name, and she knew the store better than some of the fresher meat.

The music continued to blare as she drove, and even though she wasn't sure how well things stood with Tori she was confident that she'd given Beck something to think about. If he didn't back off, then he'd certainly start chasing Tori seriously; while she may have dreaded that, it meant that even if Tori didn't want to be with her at least she'd be with a guy that realized how precious she was.

_But I do hope she picks me._

She pulled into the parking lot still humming the first song she'd played, turning the car off and stepping out onto the asphalt as she propped her sunglasses up on the crown of her head. Tossing her keys into her purse then shouldering the bag, she made her way to the entrance of a black, two-story building with intricate tribal tattoo work decorating the first floor. This was Blackwork, the best place to go when you're Jade West and you've had your fill of irritation.

She was just about to reach for the door handle when all of a sudden the door swung open on its own and she was hit with what was either a person or a spongy door frame.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh and the warmth of a body pressed up against hers, accompanied by an unlady-like "Oompf" clarified that it was a person.

Realizing which particular person this was had a fire going in her body in moments.

"_Vega?!"_

Tori looked up at her, and for a moment Jade wondered how that was possible considering Tori was taller than she was; then she remembered that the half-Latina had been wearing flat shoes today, whereas Jade had opted for her combat boots which provided her with an extra inch (useful information).

"Jade! Uh… what are you, u-um, I mean…"

Neither girl moved, but Jade realized that two very gentle hands were on her waist, most likely a defense mechanism to prevent them from crashing to the ground. As she realized this, she also conveniently realized that her own were in a similar position. Tori seemed to realize it as well and was the first to pull away, but Jade clearly saw a blush darkening the other girl's cheeks. Curious, Jade made sure to gently drag her fingers across Tori's hips, watching her face for the slightest reaction.

_Tori… do you care about me? Do you feel the same way about me? Do you realize what a sap you've turned me into? Will you take responsibility for it?_

Obviously none of these questions wet answered, for the only question Jade actually verbalized was "What are you doing here?"

"U-uh… well, you see, I felt bad about… the other day and, well…" Tori took a breath to steady herself, one hand coming up to rest against her chest, "I thought I should apologize. The way I reacted, well… it was kind of ganky… so I went and got you an apology gift."

"I don't know if I'd say ganky… because it's a stupid word, but-"

"Jade! I'm trying to be serious here!"

Jade brought her hands up in defense. "Hey, easy! I'm sorry, but really, you didn't have to get me anything! I mean, it was… it was a lot to throw in front of you and… I guess I can't blame you for reacting the way you did and-"

"Yes you can, what I did was stupid. I ran away! I would totally hate me." Tori was looking at the ground now, shoulders slumping as she sighed in a self-deprecating manner.

Jade bit her lip, hands twitching at her sides as her wants and her common sense battled internally. Eventually her wants won out, because her hands began to move with a will of their own; one came up to rest on Tori's shoulder, the other gently taking Tori's chin and bringing her face back up so their eyes could meet.

Staring into those beautiful brown eyes, Jade said "I could never hate you."

Tori stared at her for a moment, eyes wide. "Really? Because it sure seemed that way when we first met."

Jade chuckled, thumb unconsciously brushing against tan skin. "That was the young and stupid Jade. This is the new and improved Jade… who still loves scissors and dead things but realizes what a great friend you've been to her this entire time."

Tori smiled and Jade knew it was safe to let go, shocked to find that right now she had no desire to kiss the other girl until it hurt, but that she only wanted to know what Tori had gotten her. She was curious really, about how Tori had known about this place and what she thought Jade might like.

All thoughts of getting her rook pierced gone, she nodded towards her car. "You wanna go sit in the car? I won't try anything, I promise. I just don't want to put my butt on the pavement, who knows what other butts have been there."

Tori looked oddly at her for a moment and Jade thought that she just might refuse, but then the half-Latina grinned shyly and nodded. "I didn't think you would. I know you're not like that."

For a moment Jade was tempted to mention the kiss, but that probably wouldn't have been such a good idea, so instead she just led the way to the car.

The two of them plopped in, and made themselves comfortable; Jade reached for the radio but Tori reached out and stopped her, gave her a meaningful look that clearly said 'This is serious time. Not crazy Jade music time'. So, she settled back into her seat and waited for Tori to start.

"Look… this whole thing is just crazy… and it's just kind of hard to wrap, my head around the idea that you like me that way. Plus with you just having broken up with Beck and Beck asking me out too, it's just weird. I'm sorry, but I just don't know what I want, so I can't give you a definite answer about any of this. I mean, you can't make me fall in love with you and neither can Beck; this has to be my choice." Jade nodded, though the half-Latina's words made her face fall and her heart sink. "Still… the way I handled things the other day was unacceptable. The amount of courage you showed? You deserved so much more than what I gave you, so… here."

And Tori handed her a small, nondescript black bag, the classic trademark of a Blackwork purchase. "Cat said you come here all the time, so I thought I'd try here. I hope you like it, and…" Jade gasped as she opened up the small little black box that had been sitting at the bottom of the bag, revealing a present that meant so much more than any words could.

Tori had bought her a ring, a beautiful, full-finger ring shaped in the form of a black rose, its vines wrapping around and creating the ring shape, with little silver thorns poking out at every turn. Before she even had a chance to fully take it in Tori had taken it from her, gently sliding it onto the pointer finger of her left hand. "..I hope you don't give up on me."

Jade was speechless. She felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and she couldn't stop the smile that was slowly growing on her awestruck face.

"Tori…" She looked up, the first tears falling as Tori smiled back at her, sheepish yet proud. "I love it. But… if you don't leave, I might just kiss you… and I don't want to ruin that little speech you just made. So, maybe you should-"

But she couldn't speak, because Tori's lips were on hers, and she was in Heaven. Her eyes slid shut, tears still flowing freely from their corners. The warmth, contentment, and utter perfection of this moment was indescribable.

Tori pulled away slowly, Jade's eyes opening to gaze at her in wonder. The other girl shrugged sheepishly. "If you think about it, we've already had two dates."

This time Jade was the one to lean in, practically lunging at the other girl and crushing their lips together, the hand with the ring coming up to cradle Tori's head. This was a kiss to convey feeling, every feeling that Jade had in that moment: joy, adoration, a hint of the larger desire hiding within her, and a fierce sense of recognition, of accomplishment. Her efforts _hadn't_ been in vain!

She felt Tori smile against her lips and the kiss broke off because a similar smile broke out on her face, shining with all of the celestial light of the North Star. "Tori…"

"Jade…"

She was probably going to regret this later… but she told herself that she owed it to him. To him and to herself, to see if what Tori was trying to prove to her was real. She knew that her feelings were true, but she had to test Tori's. She couldn't let herself be heartbroken again; she couldn't risk letting herself fall into a relationship with the girl that was like the lighthouse in her dark, stormy life unless it was one hundred percent tested and true.

So, with a heavy heart, she took Tori's face in both hands, looking deep into her eyes…

"You at least owe Beck a chance."

* * *

**You guys hate me, don't you? **

**I apologize for the lack of update; being an art major is kind of awful in terms of due dates and the sheer amount of time I dedicate to work every week. Let me just say this; my roommate, who is studying neuroscience, has less homework than I do.  
**

**You must all thank Hurricane Sandy for this chapter. Without her, none of this would be possible!  
**

**One last thing; I'd like to thank all of my anonymous readers that are so kind as to me leave me reviews even if they don't have accounts here. I really appreciate it, and I must say you guys have some great input! Keep it up!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

Tori gnawed at her thumbnail, eyes darting back and forth from one side of the view from the window to the other. She was nervous. She felt like she was going to vomit. She felt like… like…

…like she was doing something illegal.

_I can't believe I'm about to do this! I can't even, like, begin to understand how I ended up in this situation! How is this even happening?!_

As her other hand fingered the fabric of the curtain, Tori continued to fret, worrying away at her nail even as her jaw started to ache. She'd been standing there for at least seven straight minutes, and she hadn't moved an inch.

The sound of her sister's irritating voice shouting her name caused her to jump, hand flying away from her mouth as she turned her guilty gaze towards the eldest Vega girl. Trina stood with her hands on her hips, face somewhere between serious and irritated as only an older sister's face can be. "What are you doing? You've been acting like a twitchy piece of furniture for like, ten minutes and it's starting to give me the creeps! And why are you dressed like that?"

Tori groaned, eyes closing in exasperation. "Trina," she whined, "Can we not do this right now? I'm already on edge as it is, I don't need you-"

"But why are you on edge? What's going on?"

Nervous brown eyes opened as Tori bit at her bottom lip. Should she confess? Should she tell her sister what was going on? Maybe for once in her life Trina would play the part of loving older sister and offer her some actual advice. Considering what she was about to do though, she doubted that would happen. She was actually almost positive that it wouldn't happen.

She sighed, turning to look over her shoulder and send her sister a desperate glare that she hoped screamed 'Go away you irritating thing I am already ready to explode and you are not helping'.

But Trina didn't take the hint. Instead, Tori saw her eyes flick over past Tori's shoulder and widen in surprise. Her own heart clenched in her chest as she turned back around and looked back out the window. She could see headlights, and the sight of them, finally here, made a lump form at the back of her throat. "Do you have a _date_?! Who is it?! Why didn't you tell me?! Oh my god!"

Suddenly hands were on her shoulders and her eyes were ripped away from the dual lights waiting outside to her sister's crazed face, inches away from her own. "_Who is it?!"_

Tori immediately tried to get out of her sister's grip, fighting to free herself as Trina continued to ask her over and over again, voice getting more and more irritating each time. Trina kept her grip firm though, and eventually Tori got sick of being manhandled and shouted, "It's Beck!" The fighting stopped and Tori's gaze fell to the floor, embarrassed. An awkward silence passed before Tori looked up and saw her sister staring at her in shock. "…it's Beck, alright? I gotta go."

And before her sister had a chance to rant and rave about how unfair life was or how dare Tori go out with Beck when she knew that her gorgeous older sister had called dibs the second she'd found out he was single, Tori grabbed her jacket and ran for the door.

Hurrying out into the cool fall night, she pulled her jacket on and headed straight for Beck's car. This whole situation was quite frankly terrifying; it was hard to believe that she was about to go on a date with Beck… and it was even harder to believe that she had kissed Jade last night. _She_ had kissed _Jade_. Not the other way around, like that first time. Tori had actually initiated something and she had to admit… it had felt pretty amazing.

Seeing Jade smile, being the cause of that smile… it had warmed her from head to toe and leaning in had seemed almost instinctual.

_And she was so sweet about it; when she warned me to leave before she lost it and kissed me… something changed. It all became so much more concrete. I mean, before that it was still just so surreal! The thought of Jade liking me _that _way, I don't think I really understood that she was serious even after that first kiss. I was terrified that it was all just some crazy dream, that I'd wake up and she'd still be dating Beck and we'd still be fighting with each other like always._

_But yesterday changed everything. Now, Jade's wearing a promise that I made to her, and I know for a fact that kissing her is in no way gross or weird or anything stupid like that. It's actually really… nice. _

_And I totally wouldn't be against doing it again._

She shook her head, putting on a smile as she neared Beck's car. Time to forget Jade, at least for now. Tonight was his night, Jade had said so herself. Tori had been a little more than surprised when the other girl had taken her face in her hands, right after kissing her, and told her that she owed Beck at least a first date. It was so sweet, and so brave of her. Tori could tell that Jade hadn't wanted to give Beck a chance, hadn't wanted to risk losing her, but she did it anyway. That was something Tori wasn't sure that she'd have had the courage to do, had their roles been reversed.

But for some reason, Jade's blessing wasn't enough to get rid of this awkward, nervous knot in her chest, or the lump that had taken up residence in her esophagus.

_Why am I so nervous about this? It's just a date! It's just Beck, why am I so-_

"Hey Tori!" The half-Latina leaned over slightly to peak in through the passenger side window of the car and saw Beck, grinning sheepishly and waving at her. "Sorry I'm late. I had to check on something. You look great, by the way!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, and thank you," she answered with a shy smile. _Here we go… _She tugged at the door handle but found that it wouldn't budge, so she leaned back down and raised an eyebrow in Beck's direction. He continued to smile at her for another moment before his eyes went wide and he realized that he'd forgotten to unlock the door. An apology came tumbling out of his mouth as he unlocked it, running a hand through his hair in embarrassment as Tori slid in with a laugh. "Seriously, no worries. So, where are we going?"

He still looked slightly embarrassed as he put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb, but his voice was just as smooth and calm as always. "Oh, you know. Just a little place called…" he glanced over in her direction, a grin growing on his face, "Lucques."

Tori's mouth dropped open in shock. "Lucques?! Beck, that place is like, crazy expensive! And it's like, impossibleto get a reservation there!"

Beck's grin stretched wider. "Not when your uncle owns it."

Tori's eyebrows shot up, impressed. "Huh. Look at you, Mr. Connections!"

"Ah, stop it. Go ahead and fiddle with the radio if you want. Find something good. _I_ am a responsible driver and wouldn't be caught dead with my attention turned to anything other than the road, even if there was a beautiful girl sitting next to me." Before he pulled away he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and his grin stretched wider. "But you wouldn't know anything about road safety, now would you?"

Tori's mouth dropped open in shock and her hand, already halfway to the radio, immediately changed its course to smack Beck's arm. "Dude! It's not my fault I can't drive!"

"Actually yeah, it kind of is. You're a perfectly intelligent young lady and there's no excuse for you to not have your-"

"Don't say it!"

Beck laughed, and after a few moments of trying to keep up the whole embarrassed façade Tori gave in and did the same. Perfectly comfortable laughter, a perfectly comfortable moment. Maybe this date wouldn't be as awkward as she'd thought.

They'd been friends for a long time and they'd always cared about each other… why shouldn't they be doing this? They were both single now, and even though she was well aware of how Jade felt about her Tori had every right to give Beck a chance- _Well duh, even _Jade_ told you that. In fact, I wonder if you even would have used that chance had Jade not gone ahead and told you to, even though it probably killed her a little bit to do so. _

Their laughter faded away into a semi-awkward silence. Tori leaned over to find a suitable radio station to fill it, biting at her bottom lip as the voice in her head continued to lecture her.

_Why are you even bringing this up? Why are you trying to justify this? It's not like you should feel guilty or anything; you and Jade aren't officially dating and she wants you to go on this date. She's trying to prove to you how much she's grown since you've first met, and you should be respecting her wishes and giving Beck your full attention. This is just as much for her sake as it is for yours, you know._

Tori knew all of this, and yet… and yet she still felt guilty. She'd felt guilty since yesterday, from the moment Jade had dropped her off and pulled away. Tori had seen a falsely confident smirk fall away into despair despite the other girl's attempt to peel out and make an escape before she saw.

But Tori _had _since it, and ever since then…

…_ever since then I've had nothing but Jade on the brain. That's why I feel so guilty. Because I know this is hurting her, and I can't stand knowing that. That's why I feel sick to my stomach too; I can't handle being responsible for her pain. I've always wanted her to be happy, I've always been trying to help her… and it's always felt so good! Seeing her smile, it's always put me on cloud nine. _

_But now, my being here is hurting her. _

They made it to the restaurant about ten minutes later, exchanging flirty banter the whole way that Tori's heart wanted no part of.

For all of her talk about making a choice, somehow she felt like a choice had already been made. What weighed heavily on her shoulders was the realization that she would still have to spend the night with Beck.

And the fact that she didn't want to _scared_ her. It wasn't like her date was a complete stranger.

A waiter came and they were seated at a table, Beck holding out her chair for her like a gentleman and smiling that oh so charming smile that Tori tried to swoon for but just… couldn't. They ordered food that Tori didn't feel like eating, knowing that Beck wouldn't really be paying for any of this because his uncle owned the place and they probably wouldn't even bother bringing a check.

Beck was her friend... she shouldn't feel this way! Even if she didn't feel _that_ way about him (as she was slowly beginning to realize) she shouldn't feel _nauseous_ about it.

"So Tori…" She snapped to attention, eyes flying from her untouched plate to Beck's suddenly serious face. The corner of his mouth twitched up in an attempt at a smile, but his dark eyes remained, well... dark. And concerned. He rested his elbows on the table, laced his fingers together and rested his chin on the bridge they made, gaze never leaving hers. "I can see that you're having a horrible time."

Tori immediately spluttered in denial, but Beck shook his head and sighed, falling back into his chair as a real smile (sad as it was) fought its way onto his face. His gaze fell away from hers, dropping to his plate. "It's okay. I had a feeling this would happen."

The half-Latina frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're thinking about Jade right now, aren't you?" Tori went rigid in her chair, mouth dropping open in surprise. _How did he…? _"Look Tori, you're a fantastic singer but you've never been the best actress. I could tell from the second you sat down that you weren't actually here. You've been off in your own little world all night."

"Beck… I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Tori," he interrupted, "It's okay. I… I talked to her yesterday. About you. About how she feels about you. It wasn't exactly a friendly conversation, either… but it made me realize a few things. Actually, I guess you could say it helped me figure a few things out. Why you two always seem to end up together, for example. Why you never gave up on her, for another… and why Jade is so much stronger now than when we first got together." He sighed heavily, head lolling back to stare up at the ceiling.

He was silent for a minute, deep in thought, before Tori saw his eyes slide shut. "Has she told you yet?"

Tori had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question, but she owed it to him to at least say it out loud. "Yes." She couldn't stop the smile that immediately bloomed on her face. The memory of yesterday immediately came to the forefront of her mind: the ring, the look of wonder that had shone in those beautiful green eyes, the dazzling smile full of hope… and those lips, pressed against hers.

The blood that raced to her cheeks? Yeah, she couldn't stop that either.

"See? You're thinking about her right now." His eyes were open now, staring at her in quiet defeat. A minute passed before he stood up without a word, offering her his hand and bringing her up with him. Beck gazed at her softly for a moment, eyes glassy with pain. He led them from the restaurant, stopping to get their coats before leaving, of course. He even helped her into hers (ever the gentleman) before he retook her hand and they continued outside. Her hand felt small in his, overpowered. It was… odd.

Nothing like holding Jade's hand.

He drove her home in silence; she didn't bother with the radio. All she could do was sit there, wondering.

She tried to remember what it was like between her and Beck before all of this had happened, what great friends they'd been. Was it all ruined? Forever? She could see how tightly his hands gripped the steering wheel… despite how gently he was treating her Tori could tell that he was deeply hurt.

She chanced a glance at his profile.

_Maybe hurt is the wrong word… honestly he just looks depressed. _

_I'm sorry, Beck._

He pulled up outside her house, put the car in park and sagged into his seat. He didn't speak. He didn't look at her. Tori gripped her coat, unsure of how to handle the situation. She opened her mouth to speak, but it shut with a sigh and she slumped back as well.

Silence filled the car, thick and suffocating.

Suddenly an image of Jade, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, flashed through her head. It practically screamed 'Get on with it' and Tori realized how selfish she was being. If she felt anything for Jade at all, she shouldn't just be sitting here. She was being weak, allowing these things to happen and allowing this silence to consume them. With every moment that passed, a wedge was being driven deeper and deeper between them; soon there would be nothing left to save, no friendship to salvage. She didn't want that! How could she ever hope to deserve a relationship with Jade if she didn't even have the backbone to fix _this_?

Her hands fisted in her jacket and her jaw clenched, eyes narrowing in determination. She breathed in once and let it out slowly.

She turned to Beck, and even though her heart broke seeing him as miserable as he was, she had to do this. "Look Beck, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that this didn't work out the way you wanted it to, and I'm sorry that I can't feel the same way about you that… you feel about me. I can't help it. I care about Jade, and I need her to know it. I don't know what's going to happen from here, but I want you to know that I'm sorry."

Beck was silent for a long while.

Tori stared at him, waiting for a response, but with none forthcoming she sighed and turned to leave. However, a hand lashed out and snagged her wrist before she could even open the door, and she looked back. He was still staring straight ahead, but the grip on her wrist was tight and for a moment she was afraid.

"I'm sorry too."

And suddenly his lips were on hers.

And it felt all wrong.

* * *

Jade couldn't help but feel... uneasy.

She'd gone to Cat's house in an attempt to distract herself from the fact that Tori, _her_ Tori, was going on a date with Beck tonight.

It wasn't working.

Cat was bouncing around, being her usual ditzy self, prattling on and on about God knows what, not that Jade particularly cared. All she'd been doing for the past two hours was flip through channels, looking for anything gruesome or even remotely disturbing to try and amuse herself with. So far, she'd watched a special on medieval torture devices, another on Mayan culture (which she'd only watched because of the alarming amount of time they'd spent on human sacrifices), and she'd been halfway through a report on a school shooting before the channel had switched to a special on some idiotic celebrity and their latest idiotic escapades involving an electric razor and a neighbor's dog.

The razor had been incentive enough to watch for all of five minutes, but then the celebrity, an idiot bottle blonde, had started talking.

So now she was laid out on Cat's bed, flipping channels, and very close to flipping out. Cat's incessant chattering was _really _beginning to grate on her nerves, and if she checked her phone only to find she had no new messages from a certain half-Latina one more time, she'd surely go insane.

And that could be dangerous.

"Jade? ...Jade? Jade!"

She ran her fingers back and forth over Tori's ring (she hadn't taken it off), trying to calm herself. Cat kept calling her name though, and she wouldn't stop. Her voice wormed it's way into her ears, down into her brain, digging deeper and deeper, practically mining through her skull, searching for something that wasn't there. Maybe some ounce of interest or care for what she was saying, something that Jade didn't have. Her lip curled in a snarl and her hands clenched, entire body tensing...

"Jade Jade Jade Jade Jade Jade Jade-"

_"What?!"_ A resounding crack was heard from across the room, and Jade realized the remote was no longer in her hand. She looked at Cat, and her heart leapt up in her throat when she saw the fear in her friends eyes. In her anger, she'd _thrown_ the remote at her best friend. "Cat..."

Cat shrieked and jumped away, used to her explosive temper she supposed, but still.

Jade sighed and drove her face into the bed, ashamed of herself. Usually she had enough restraint to avoid causing damage, but she was already on edge and it wasn't helping that Cat had chosen tonight to be extra annoying. "Look Cat, I'm in a bad mood tonight, and... I-I'm-"

She was about to say she was sorry, which would have taken time given she was not used to apologizing to people, when all of a sudden her phone buzzed.

Her head snapped up and she lunged for it, hoping against hope that it was Tori.

It was, but what she read made her blood run cold. All thoughts of apologizing to Cat flew from her head as she grabbed her bag, pulled on her jacket and ran from the room.

_'I need you.'_

* * *

**I apologize for the wait people, college has been rough on my sleep cycle. I've been recuperating for the past week, but here you are. Chapter 13. **


	14. Chapter 14

Tori stared down at the screen of her phone, sniffling away the last throes of her crying episode. Staring back at her were three little words. A ten minute tirade of jumbled thoughts accompanied by tears and those three little words were all she had to show for it.

It wasn't exactly a monologue and they certainly wouldn't have thrilled an audience… but they meant so much.

'_I need you.'_

And they carried so much meaning. So much meaning that Tori wasn't even sure what half of it actually _meant_.

Releasing something that may have resembled the lovechild of a human sigh and an animalistic groan the young Latina fell face-forward into the couch, seeking solace in the fabric as she waited (dreaded, feared, slowly died for) a response.

It couldn't have been more than seven minutes before Tori heard the front door swing open with all the force of a hurricane behind it. She looked up just in time to see the thick slab of wood rebound off the wall and come slamming back towards its frame. When it was halfway there all Tori had time to register was a pale hand flashing out, quick as lighting. That hand stopped the door in its tracks, the wood trembling as momentum sought frantic release.

Tori stared dumbly for a moment, eyeing the hand in suspicion as fear began to grow in her chest. Actually, maybe fear isn't the right word… have you ever had that feeling that something astronomically important is about to happen, something that you're not quite sure is good or bad and, what's worse, you have no idea how to handle it?

That's how she felt. It was like, suspense to the max. The kind that makes you nauseous. Her head was so busy trying to process this feeling that her porr brain couldn't even form a cohesive thought, so where you'd normally find a witty mental quip you'll find only an explanation as to _why _there is no witty mental quip.

So as her mind tried to catch up with the rush of silent emotion that had forced its way into the room, a moment became a minute, and mocha eyes continued to stare.

And stare.

And _stare_.

…and the silence was deafening.

But then something funny happened.

As Tori continued to stare, all of a sudden she began to _see_. She saw the almost painful way those pale fingers gripped the door. She saw knuckles, fiercely white, and she saw veins, pale blue rivers hiding beneath a layer of snow.

And then she saw the ring.

Stark black against that pale hand, Tori saw the ring that she had given to a certain someone a few days before. She saw the smooth black petals, shining with the slightest hint of dew (had it started to rain?) in the soft artificial light of her living room. She saw the silver thorns, wrapping tenderly around that single finger, cool and familiar to their owner's touch but posing a silent threat to everyone else.

She saw that ring and all tension left her body. Her muscles relaxed and she sank some back into the couch, breath escaping in a silent sigh.

Her mind may not have been brought to speed just yet, but her heart knew what to do. So it hijacked her body. Her eyes began to move without her mental consent, following the hand to wrist, the wrist to an arm. The arm led to a shoulder, and in some corner of her brain, completely detached from anything emotional (because that was all still kind of a hot mess) realized that it had in fact been raining.

She also realized that the girl standing in her doorway had forgotten to bring a jacket.

Her eyes stopped for a moment at that shoulder, watching a single bead of rainwater find its way down from its high perch and tumble down pale skin. Soon enough she was moving on, finding curled tendrils of black hair, soaking wet and dripping. A gentle smile tugged at the corner of her lips, so slight that even a close friend could have mistaken it for a twitch.

And before she knew it she was staring into the pale (beautiful) green (emerald) eyes of Jade West. A very wet, very agitated, very uncomfortable looking Jade West.

Tori blinked once, before rising without a word. She grabbed the wool blanket that her mother always kept on the couch for comfort's sake. She crossed the room unhurriedly but with purpose, never taking her eyes from Jade's face.

The other girl watched her move with concern and a growing sense of confusion, but remained stiff as a statue. It wasn't until Tori was right in front of her, easily within touching distance, that she allowed herself to show her discomfort, her grip on the door going slack. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as though unsure of where to put it. Jade never broke eye contact, but Tori saw the strength of her gaze falter, replaced by a cloud of self-doubt. Her perfect red mouth opened as if she was going to speak, but no words came out.

When Tori continued to stare, Jade finally dropped her eyes to the floor, liquid embarrassment leaking into her cheeks in the form of the most adorable blush Tori had seen in a long time.

Her mind had finally come to grips with the situation, and so here's your witty mental quip.

_Why do I feel like she was expecting to burst in like a knight in shining black armor, scissors ablaze, prepared to save me from any and every horrible situation she thought up on the drive over? And now that she sees that I'm perfectly fine this is probably the most embarrassed she's ever been in her life._

…_she's adorable._

She reached out and watched Jade's eyes flash up to meet hers, nervous yet hopeful. The smile finally broke loose. She laid her hand on Jade's and her smile stretched wider when she felt the other girl's grip soften the moment they touched, fingers unclenching, allowing the door to fall shut behind them. Jade watched her, eyes shifting rapidly back and forth between Tori's own.

Tori smiled back comfortingly, letting her hand linger for a moment before pulling away (not missing the flicker of disappointment that flashed across green eyes). She took the wool blanket and gripped either end with both hands, glanced down at Jade's soaked black tank top and frowned. With a great flourish, she whipped the blanket up and around and settled it on the other girl's shoulders, wrapping her soaking wet figure in its warmth.

Looking back up to meet those green eyes again, Tori's smile turned soft and the silence was finally broken.

"I bet you don't even realize how freezing you are."

Jade stared at her in stunned silence, mouth popping open again as black eyebrows knit together. Tori could practically see the wheels turning in Jade's head, trying to formulate a response, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do now. She'd sped over here, probably blowing through every stop sign (a habit of Jade's, because no one tells Jade West what to do), a woman on a mission, and now here she was wrapped in a blanket, being reprimanded for running out in the rain.

_I have to admit, I don't think I've ever seen Jade West so thrown for a loop before. I mean yeah, I know she has a childish side, but she's always had a witty remark or a sarcastic bite to throw back. _

With out thinking, the half-Latina reached around and gently freed the black and blue tendrils of hair trapped by the blanket's embrace. As she withdrew her hand, her fingers brushed against the pale skin of Jade's neck, and she watched as the other girl's breath hitched, red flaring in her cheeks again. Tori cocked her head, wondering if maybe she really did have as much power over Jade as Jade seemed to have over her.

…and the second that thought entered her head she was reminded of why she'd been nearly bawling her eyes out ten minutes ago. Her smile faded and she took a step back, clearing her throat as her eyes dropped to the floor.

Jade's eyes widened in response, taking Tori's actions as a sudden rejection of the oddly intimate moment they were having. She took an immediate step forward, once again bringing herself within arm's distance. Indeed she may have overstepped, because when Tori looked back up she flinched away in surprise at how close Jade's face was to her own.

Jade licked her lips and took a shaky breath. "You said you needed me."

Tori felt her throat nearly close with the swell of emotion that immediately reared up with this simple, yet incredibly revealing revelation. The Latina felt the sudden need to take Jade in her arms, soaking wet or not, and squeeze until her heart was able to function normally again.

So she did.

She crushed the other girl in a fierce hug, ignoring the sudden chill and uncomfortable wetness that rushed to her front as dry, warm tan met slick, shivering pale. Jade gasped in surprise, shocked still for less than a moment before she melted into the embrace, arms coming up to wrap around Tori's slightly taller shoulders, bringing the blanket with her so that the two were wrapped up in their own little cocoon. Tender warmth spread rapidly, fueled by the fierce adoration blooming in Tori's chest, racing to chase the chill from Jade's veins. Said beauty tightened her grip and her face found the shelter offered in the crook of Tori's neck, cheek pressing flush against the Latina's pulse point as brown locks wove together with raven black.

"What happened?" she whispered, and Tori's eyes opened to stare at the door, a frown appearing on her face. Her grip around Jade's waist loosened just a fraction, and Tori could immediately feel her tense up. Almost as if the other girl was scared to lose this contact, contact that (Tori guessed) she'd been wanting for a long, long time.

So Tori didn't break it. She didn't want to hurt Jade any more than she had to, and even that was going to be tough. Instead, she let her hands drag forward until they rested squarely on the other girl's hips. Her fingers brushed there lightly, and when the skin of her ring finger brushed against bare skin of Jade's left hip, both girls shivered.

And it wasn't because of the rain.

"…I gave Beck a chance. Just like you asked." The skin to skin connection was all Tori could focus on. It was the one thing she _chose_ to focus on, because she knew that if she tried to focus on Jade's uneven breathing or allowed her mind to imagine the look of hurt, jealousy, anger or misery that could have crossed her beautiful face (and all four did, though Tori didn't know it) then she knew she wouldn't be able to go on.

So she focused on the warmth, brushing back and forth slowly, both for the sake of her sanity and Jade's. The gentle brush of skin on skin kept them grounded as one waited and the other struggled, struggled for the strength to say what she had to say.

"I gave him a chance… and it was a mess. It was so scary, I… I just, I couldn't…" she stopped, breathed, and tried again. "And he…! God Jade, he tried to-"

It all happened in an instant. She felt Jade's arms grow impossibly tight, felt her press impossibly close, but then in a moment that warmth was gone as she was pushed away to be held at arm's length and her vision of the door was replaced with a vision of furious green fire. A fierce bite in her shoulders proved to be Jade's nails, catching more fabric than anything else but still scraping against enough skin to sting.

"_What_ did he do?"

Tori stared wide-eyed into those angry green rings of fire, frozen for the moment. She was so confused, but then it hit her…

_She thinks I mean, oh God, no! It wasn't-_"No, no Jade! I-I didn't mean-"

"_What did he do?!"_

The half-Latina frowned and gained her own fierce grip, her own on top of Jade's hands. In a single twisting move she wrenched them away and stepped back. "Jade, stop! I didn't mean it like that, he didn't hurt me or… or try anything like that! I shouldn't have said it that way and I'm sorry for confusing you but would you please just calm down? I mean, yeah he kissed me but that was all that-"

"He _kissed_ you?!"

Tori rolled her eyes and groaned in exasperation, turning away from Jade's flared nostrils and clenched fists to try and get her thoughts together.

But Jade was having none of it.

"Don't you turn away from me, Vega! You're going to tell me everything that happened, everything! And then I'm gonna drive to his house and murder him in his own bed in that _stupid_ RV of his! I have a pair of scissors in my car, really big, black ones with serrated edges and, and I'm gonna take them and _shove_ them right up his-"

"Ugh, would you stop it?! It doesn't matter!"

"It doesn't _matter?! _Are you joking? Of course it matters! That idiot chunk of testosterone-laden string-muscled garbage had the nerve to shove his tongue down your throat on the first date with everything that's been going on and you say it doesn't _matter?! _Tori, what the hell does-"

"It doesn't matter because I didn't feel anything!" The ferocity of her tone and the ferocity in her eyes as she turned on the other girl, hands clenched and shoulders squared quickly put an end to Jade's rant, but hers was only beginning. "It doesn't mean anything because never, not once this entire night, did I ever feel anything even remotely similar to attraction to Beck! Nothing, not at all! In fact, it was the opposite! I felt like I didn't even know him! I could barely stand to sit in his car; I squirmed the entire way to the restaurant! And when we were there, I couldn't focus on anything he said!"

With each angry truth Tori took a threatening step forward and Jade, fearless Jade, kept her cool for as long as she could, but after no more than three steps did she start to back away, fear sparking in those green eyes. The half-Latina was livid, and the worse truth wasn't even out yet.

But it was well on its way.

"Every joke he made, every compliment he gave me, I felt nothing but nausea. And when he brought me home, all I wanted was to get out of that car as fast as possible and run back inside and never have to do anything like that with him ever again. You wanna know why it doesn't matter, Jade? It doesn't matter because all I could think about was _you_! All night, yours was the only face I could see, yours was the only voice I could hear. I kept thinking about _you, _how brave you were for giving him this chance and how agonizing it must have been for you to risk losing me to him. I just kept picturing you, sad and alone, trying to keep a brave face and I-I just... couldn't. I couldn't let that happen. I can't be responsible for that. I can't make you sad. I never could. Ever since we first met, even after you were horrible to me... I never, I could never bring myself to hurt you. And I realized, there has to be a reason for that."

She put a hand to her forehead, eyes closing as heat began to rise in her own cheeks at her admission. "Once I figured that out, all I wanted to do was run straight to your house and, one, smack you for making me feel this way, and then two, give what happened in your car the other day another try. ...A few more tries, actually."

She was less angry now, having accepted her situation now that she'd said it out loud. She was more tired now than anything else, tired and ready to sleep. She just had one more thing to clear up first.

She put a hand to her forehead, letting her eyes fall shut. "I think Beck could tell even before I could. He just knew he had no chance. When he kissed me, I think it was just like, the finish. An end to the whole thing. To be honest, I don't really think he felt anything either, because when he pulled away he didn't seem too devastated. I mean, sure, he was upset and it's probably going to be mad awkward at school for a while but…"

"Tori."

Tori pulled her hands away from her eyes and when she looked up, smiling green eyes were all that she saw. The hands that came to rest on her shoulders were now soft and gentle, smoothing away the hurt they had unintentionally inflicted minutes ago. Her eyes weren't the only thing smiling; when Tori's gaze flicked down to pink lips the grin she saw there made a twin spread across her own face.

Jade didn't miss what her eyes were currently occupied with.

That gentle, happy grin turned playful and the hands on her shoulders slid up, sliding against smooth caramel skin until they met and locked together at the back of Tori's neck. The half-Latina's heart began to pound in her chest and she looked up just in time to see Jade's own eyes flicking southward.

The moment their eyes met, a single black brow perked.

"Can we not talk about Beck anymore?"

Tori barely had time to nod before Jade was pulling her for in a searing kiss.

* * *

**So guys... how's it hanging? Don't hate me; I know it's been a long time but life has been pretty rough on me these past few months. College has been kicking my ass, I've been sick, and now I'm pretty sure I have this thing called Christmas Tree Rash which apparently has no treatment and is supposed to just "run it's course" but unfortunately it's "course" could last from six weeks to six months.  
**

**Not fun.**

**But, I'm still here. Don't worry. Now, I'm thinking maybe only two more chapters, then maybe an epilogue. Not sure yet. **

**And I'm sorry for not replying to last chapter's reviews. I'll be sure to do that this time around**

**-Cel**


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